THF  ROY  ^ 

OF  BOB'S 


ITS 

T  T 

iLjjLd 


CHARLES  PIERCE  BURTON 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/boyscoutsofbobshOOburt 


■■■in  n  ■     TKi 


o»ric»ii»  or  TVS  n atiowai,  cotmen. 

Tftt  MN.  «00!tR(^V  VILMm  Vta»h«14-i.  HILTON  A.  Mclue.  Itam*.  IrtA 


jtwinc  ROOSEVIU  *IZ^pI»«j— I^ 

nATlo:«AL  bb'adquahtbrs 

BOY  SCOUTS  OF  AMERICA 

1VNAHCB  CO.MMITTBB  TUB    PIFTB    AVKNUE    BUILDINC    200    FIITrH    AVB.NVB         ClOlCt   a    f»AtT 

n 

M»  Km  I  a^^  ,  nusriiom  <»»MB><rv  •.• 

SS;"~  1- —  V   •:i---      NEW    YOKK    CITY      ^r^r^^- — g       "^  "-0^11. , 


•»  av-  <Mnr 


ADOrriONAl.    HKMUEBS    OK'TllK    EKKCVTIVS    BOARD 

Cfvx   P    BkhMll  rMf    >ini»lih   T.   J«^  Eitu  H.   lUfciai^ 

July  3l8t,  'l«13v 

10  THB  PUBLIC :- 

In  the  execution  of  Its  purpose  to  give  educational  value  endi 
jBloral  vorth  to  the  recreational  ectivitiea  of  the  boyhood  of  Amerioa, 
the  leaders  of  the  Boy  Scout  Movement  quickly  learned  that  to  effective^^ 
carry  out  Ita  program,  the  boy  toust  be  influenced  not  only  in  his  out«> 
cf-door  life  but  also  in  the  diversions  of  his  other  leisure  momenta. - 
Zt  Is  at  euoh  times  that  the  boy  is  captured  by  the  tales  of  daring 
enterprises  and  adventurous  good  times,  that  now  is  needful  is  sot 
that  bis  taste  should  be  thwarted  but  trained.  There  should  constant!^ 
fce  p^eBea.tJBtf•t^^him  the  books  .the  boy  likes  best,  yet  always  the  books 
XbaX  wlXX   be  best  for  the  boy.  As  a  matter  of  faot,  however,  the  boy's 
taste  la  being  constantly  vitiated  and  exploited  by  the  great  mass  of 
•heap  Juveolle  literature. 

To  help  anxiously  bonoerned  parents  and  educators  to  meet  thl0 
erav«  peril,  the  Library  Commission  of  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America  has 
been  organized.  EVERY  BOY'S  LIBRARY  Js  the  result  of  their  labors. 
Ail  the  books  chosen  have  been  approved  by  theo.   The  Commission  is 
composed  of  the  following  members:  George  F.  Bowerman,  Librarian,  FubUft 
Library  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Harrison  9. 
Gravor,  Librarian,  Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  ;  Claude  G.  Leland^ 
Superintendent,  Bureau  of  Libraries,  Board  of  Education,  New  York  City; 

•"DO  A  GOOD  TURN  DAILY."  •'VOi 


■"^SH  F.  Stevens,  tiibrarian,  Pratt  Institute  Free  Library,  BrooklTn, 
Saw  Vork ;  together  with  the  Editorial  fioard  of  our  Uovemsnt,  William 
v.   Murray,  George  D.  Pratt  end  Prenlc  PresDrey,  with  Fran-lin  ".  llathiewa, 
Chief  Scout  Librarian,  aa  Secretary. 

In  sslectins  tho  booV'?,  the  Ccmoiea' "n  hag  choi,6n  or.ly  such  S3 
%e0   of  interest  to  boys,  the  first  twenty-five  being  either  worlce  of 
fiction  or  stirring  storiea  of  »dvonturouB  experlenoee.   In  later  lists, 
bocks  of  a  nore  serious  sort  will  be  included.   It  is  hoped  thst  es 
jnacy  as  t«enty-fivs  nay  bo  edded  to  the  Library  each  year. 

Than!c3  are  due  the  esvoral  publichera  who  have  helpe-J  to 
neugurate  thi»  new  department  of  our  wor'<.  Without  their  co-operatioo 
in  making  available  for  popular  prieed  editions  some  of  the  best  books 
ever  published  for  boySp  the  pvonotion  of  EVER'X  BOY'S  LIBRARY  would. 
'">vQ  been  impoesibie.. 

We  wish,  too,  to  express  our  heartiest  gratitude  to  the  LibrarT 
,^aatlSEion,  who,  witUxSVit  conpeneation,  have  placed  their  va=t  exporiecc© 
sod  Imeose  resourcestiat  the  service  of  our  Hovecent. 

The  CocKDlssIon  invites  suggestions  as  to  future  books  to  be 
loeludod  In  tho  Library.  Librarians,  teachers,  parents,  and  all  others 
Interested  la  welfai^e  work  for  boye,  can  render  a  unique  service  by 
forwarding  to  Rational  Headquarters  lists  of  such  books  as  in  their 
judgoent  woHld  V*  euitaW*  for  every  Eoy'S  library. 

Signed 


'^^-VH-^  F.  Uxs^ 


Chief  Soout  .KseoUttte* 


-..  ^' 


'  v.^ 


"I    HAVE    LOST   THE    CAMP.       HELP!"— Pogg    132. 


EVERY  BOY'S  LIBRARY— BOY  SCOUT  EDITION 


THE  BOY  SCOUTS 
OF  BOB'S  HILL 

A  Sequel  to  '*The  Bob's  Hill  Braves" 


BY 

CHARLES  PIERCE  BURTON 

AUTHOR  OF 

THE  BOYS  OF  BOB'S  HILL,  THE  BOB'S  GAVE  BOYS. 

AND  THE  BOB'S  HILL  BRAVES 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 

GORDON  GRANT 


NEW      YORK 

GROSSET    &    DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  19 12, 

BY 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 
Published  October,  1913 


SRLf 


tKo 
THE   RAVENS, 

Patrol  I,  Troop  3,  of  Aurora,  Illinois, 
BOY  SCOUTS  OF  AMERICA 


CONTENTS 


CSAPTEK 

I.  "Thb  Band"  and  the  Cave 

11.  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail 

III.  Tracking  the  Robbers 

IV.  "Danger — Come" 

V.  A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill 

VI.  A  Fourteen-mile  Hike 

VII.  "Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back" 

VIII.  Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain 

IX.  Found  at  Last     .... 

X.  A  Maiden  in  Distress 

XI.  Treed  by  a  Bear 

XII.  What  Happened  to  the  Bear  . 

XIII.  Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts 

XIV.  Planning  a  Camping  Trip  . 

XV.  Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest 

XVI.  Cloudburst  on  Grkylock    . 

XVII.  On  the  Way  at  Last 

XVIII.  Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness 

XIX.  On  Historic  Ground  . 

XX.  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 


TAGB 

I 
20 
37 
53 
67 
83 
102 
120 

135 
146 
162 

174 
191 
206 
2ig 

233 
246 
262 
278 

29& 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PACK 


"I  HAVE  LOST  THE  CAMP.    Help!"    .        .     Froittispiece 

With  Skinny  leading,  we  started,  dodging  from  tree 

TO  tree 13 

"It  gives  me  pain,"  she  said, "to  inform  you  that  the 

WOODBOX   is   empty" I06 

As  we  ran,  we  heard  a  yell  of  pain,  or  fright,  and 

IT  WAS  not  a  bear's  VOICE  AT  ALL     ....        26I 


THE  BOY  SCOUTS  OF  BOB'S  HILL 

CHAPTER  I  ■    , 

"  THE  BAND  "  AND  THE  CAVE 

BLACKINTGN'S  barn  is  exactly  at  the  foot 
of  Bob's  Hill.  Phillips's  is,  too,  and  so  is 
our  garden;  but  I  am  not  telling  about  those  now. 
Beyond  the  barns  are  apple  orchards,  reaching  half- 
way up  the  hill,  as  you  know,  if  you  have  read  about 
the  doings  of  the  Band. 

When  they  built  Blackinton's  barn  they  cut  into 
the  hill,  so  that  the  roof  of  the  stable  slopes  clear 
down  to  the  ground,  on  the  hill  side  in  the  orchard. 
It  makes  a  fine  place  for  us  boys  to  sit  and  talk  about 
things. 

Mrs.  Blackinton,  who  owns  the  barn,  says  that 
maybe  climbing  around  on  a  roof  isn't  the  best 
thing  in  the  world  for  shingles  but  boys  have  got 
to  do  something  and  she  is  willing  to  take  a  chance; 


2  "The  Band"  and  the  Cave 

only  to  be  as  careful  as  we  can,  and  not  to  eat 
any  more  apples  than  are  necessary  to  our  happiness 
and  well  being. 

Anyhow,  seven  of  us  Bob's  Hill  boys  sat  there 
one  Saturday  afternoon  in  May,  planning  what  to 
do  in  the  long  vacation.  Every  member  of  the 
Band  was  there,  not  counting  Tom  Chapin,  except 
Skinny  Miller;  and  we  were  expecting  him  every 
minute. 

He  was  late  then,  and  every  little  while  one  of 
us  would  stick  his  head  around  the  edge  of  the 
barn  to  see  if  he  wasn't  coming  up  the  driveway 
from  Park  Street.  We  might  as  well  have  sat 
still,  for  you  never  can  tell  which  way  he  will 
come. 

Pa  says  that  Skinny  is  like  the  wind,  which 
bloweth  whither  it  listeth,  I  don't  exactly  know 
what  he  meant  but  that  is  what  he  said,  or  some- 
thing like  that. 

It  was  quiet  in  the  orchard.  There  was  hardly 
a  sound  except  the  buzzing  of  insects  in  the  sun- 
shine, and  somehow  that  only  seemed  to  make  it 
more  quiet  and  dreamy. 


"The  Band"  and  the  Cave  3 

Suddenly  Bill  Wilson  stood  up  on  the  sloping 
shingles  and  gave  such  a  warwhoop  that  it  almost 
made  the  bark  rattle  on  the  trees.  When  Bill  turns 
his  voice  loose  it  is  something  awful. 

We  looked  up  to  see  what  it  all  was  about.  He 
had  grabbed  Benny  Wade  by  the  hair  and,  giving 
another  yell  louder  than  the  first,  was  pretending 
to  scalp  him.     Bill  always  likes  to  play  Indian. 

Benny  didn't  want  to  be  scalped.  Although  he 
is  two  years  younger  and  not  nearly  so  big,  he 
grabbed  Bill  around  the  legs  and  held  on  until  they 
both  slipped  and  went  tumbling  down  the  steep 
roof  to  the  ground,  where  they  sat,  with  the  rest 
of  us  laughing  down  at  them. 

Just  then  we  heard  another  warwhoop,  sounding 
from  up  the  hill  somewhere,  beyond  the  orchard. 
Bill  and  Benny  scrambled  to  their  feet,  and  we  all 
looked  and  listened. 

We  saw  nothing  for  a  minute  or  two.  Then 
something  darted  through  the  gate,  which  leads 
into  the  orchard  from  the  hill;  dropped  down  out 
of  sight  behind  the  fence,  and  commenced  crawling 
backward   toward  the  nearest  apple   tree.     Every 


4  "The  Band"  and  the  Cave 

few  seconds,  it  would  raise  up  long  enough  to  point 
something,  which  looked  like  a  gun,  at  the  enemy, 

"  Great  snakes ! "  whispered  Bill.  "  What's 
that?" 

But  we  could  tell  in  a  minute  without  asking, 
for  when  it  reached  the  tree  it  stood  up  and  peered 
around  the  trunk,  aiming  a  stick  and  pretending  to 
fire.     We  knew  then  that  Skinny  was  on  the  way. 

"  It's  Skinny!  "  shouted  Benny,  throwing  a  stick 
at  him. 

Skinny  waved  one  arm  for  us  to  be  quiet,  then 
began  to  wriggle  back  to  the  next  tree.  Making 
his  way  slowly  from  tree  to  tree,  with  a  quick  dash 
he  finally  reached  the  roof,  where  he  felt  safe. 

"  That  was  a  close  call.  Skinny,"  said  Bill.  "  I 
heard  a  bee  buzzin'  around  out  there  in  the  orchard, 
a  few  minutes  ago." 

"  Bee,  nothin' !  "  Skinny  told  him,  still  pointing 
with  his  gun  and  looking  around  in  every  direction. 
"  They  pretty  near  had  m.e  surrounded." 

That  was  the  beginning  of  this  history,  which 
tells  all  about  the  doings  of  the  Band,  that  set  all 
the  people  talking  about  us  for  miles  around. 


"The  Band"  and  the  Cave  5 

Perhaps  you  never  heard  about  the  Band;  how 
we  found  a  cave  at  Peck's  Falls,  part  way  up  the 
mountain,  and  had  all  kinds  of  fun  playing  there 
and  on  Bob's  Hill.  There  are  eight  of  us  in  all. 
Skinny  is  captain.  His  folks  call  him  Gabriel  but 
we  don't  like  that  name.  Skinny  is  a  good  name 
for  him,  he  is  so  fat.  He  can  run  though,  even 
if  he  is  heavy,  and  you  would  think  that  he  could 
fight  some  if  you  had  seen  him  once,  when  the 
Gingham  Ground  Gang  got  after  us. 

Benny  Wade  is  the  littlest  fellow  in  the  bunch 
but  he  feels  just  as  big  as  anybody  and  sometimes 
that  is  almost  as  good  as  being  big.  Besides  these 
there  are  Harry,  Wallie,  Chuck,  Bill  Wilson,  Hank 
Bates, — Oh,  yes,  I  most  forgot, — and  myself. 

My  name  is  John  Alexander  Smith.  The  boys 
call  me  Pedro,  and  I  have  been  secretary  ever  since 
Tom  Chapin  found  the  cave.  It's  up  to  me  to 
write  the  doings  of  the  Band  and  the  minutes  of 
the  meetings. 

Tom  Chapin  was  our  first  captain  and  he  meets 
with  us  now,  whenever  he  is  in  town. 

The  village  where  we  live  is  in  a  long,  narrow 


6  "The  Band"  and  the  Cave 

valley,  with  little  Hoosac  River  flowing  north 
through  the  center  of  it,  until  it  gets  beyond  the 
mountain  range.  Then  it  turns  west  and  hurries 
down  into  the  Hudson. 

Bob's  Hill  stands  just  west  of  the  village  and 
looks  down  upon  the  highest  steeples.  Over  the 
brow  of  the  hill  and  a  little  south  are  Plunkett's 
woods.  West,  straight  back,  a  mile  or  more,  begins 
the  timbered  slope  of  old  Greylock,  which,  every- 
body knows,  is  the  highest  mountain  in  Massa- 
chusetts. And  in  the  edge  of  the  first  woods,  a 
little  back  from  the  road,  is  the  prettiest  place  you 
ever  sat  eyes  upon.  Grown-up  folks  call  it  "  the 
glen,"  but  we  boys  just  say  "  Peck's  Falls."  I 
don't  know  why,  only  there  is  a  waterfall  there, 
which  begins  in  a  brook,  somewhere  up  on  the 
mountainside,  and  plays  and  tumbles  along,  until 
finally  it  pours  down  from  a  high  cliff  into  a  pool 
a  hundred  feet  below;  then  dashes  off  to  join 
Hoosac  River. 

A  queer-shaped  rock,  with  a  high  back  and  nar- 
row ledge,  which  we  call  the  "  pulpit,"  bridges  the 
ravine  in  front  of  the  falls,  fifty  feet  and  maybe 


"  The  Band  "  and  the  Cave  7 

more,  above  the  rushing  water.  A  little  farther 
down  the  ravine,  at  the  edge  of  the  stream,  is 
another  rock.  It  will  do  no  harm  now  to  say 
that  our  cave  is  under  that  rock,  because  folks  have 
found  out  about  it,  although  not  many  know  about 
there  being  two  entrances. 

All  these  things  that  I  have  told  about  belong 
to  us  boys.  Mr.  Plunkett  thinks  that  he  owns 
Plunkett's  woods  and  Bob's  Hill.  I  mean  the  very 
top  of  it.  And  somebody  has  been  cutting  trees  off 
from  Greylock,  until  it  looks  like  a  picked  chicken 
in  spots.  But  we  call  them  all  ours  because  we 
have  more  fun  with  them  than  anybody  else  does, 
and  it  seems  to  us  that  things  belong  to  those  who 
get  the  most  out  of  them. 

We  knew  from  the  way  Skinny  was  acting  that 
he  had  something  on  his  mind,  so  we  sat  down  and 
waited  for  him  to  tell  us. 

"  Fellers,"  said  he,  after  a  while,  "  we've  been 
Injuns  and  we've  been  bandits,  and  we  have  had 
fun,  good  and  plenty.  I  ain't  sayin'  that  Injuns 
and  bandits  are  not  all  right  sometimes  but " 

**  Guess  what !  "  broke  in  Benny.     "  We've  been 


8  "The  Band"  and  the  Cave 

'splorers,  too.  Don't  you  remember  'sploring  out 
in  Illinois  last  summer?  About  LaSalle  and  that 
other  guy  and  What's-her-name  who  fell  over  the 
cliff?" 

"  That  was  all  right,  too,"  said  Skinny,  "  and 
I  couldn't  forget  It  in  a  thousand  years,  but  I  tell 
you  those  things  are  back  numbers.  They  are  out 
of  date." 

"  Never  mind  about  the  date,"  said  Hank,  "  but 
hurry  and  get  it  out  of  your  system.  We've  got 
to  be  something,  haven't  we?  If  we  ain't  Injuns 
and  we  ain't  bandits,  what  are  we  ?  " 

"  We  are  Scouts,"  shouted  Skinny,  aiming  with 
his  gun  and  dodging  so  quickly  that  he  almost  slid 
down  the  roof. 

We  all  looked  at  one  another  In  surprise,  won- 
dering what  he  meant.     Benny  spoke  up  first. 

"  What  are  those  things.  Skinny?  "  he  asked. 

*'  Why,"  said  Skinny,  "  haven't  you  been  readin' 
about  'em?  They  are — er — they  are — er — they're 
just  Scouts,  that's  all. — They  scout  around,  you 
know,  and  do  all  kinds  of  stunts." 

"  Scoot  around,  you  mean,"  I  told  him. 


"  The  Band  "  and  the  Cave  9 

"  Well,  it's  the  same  thing,  ain't  it  ?  " 

"  Not  for  mine,"  said  Bill,  shaking  his  head. 
"  Scouts  may  be  all  right,  but  Injuns  and  bandits 
are  good  enough  for  me." 

"  Here's  the  book,  anyhow,"  said  Skinny. 

He  pulled  out  of  his  pocket  a  little  book,  which 
told  all  about  "  The  Boy  Scouts  of  America." 

"  That's  what  we  are  going  to  be,  the  Boy  Scouts 
of  America,  or  part  of  them.  They  have  members 
all  over  the  country.  We'll  call  ourselves  '  The  Boy 
Scouts  of  Bob's  Hill,'  when  we  have  our  meetings." 

Say,  it  looked  good  to  the  Band,  except  Bill, 
after  Skinny  had  read  the  book  to  us  a  little,  sitting 
there  on  the  roof.  It  w^as  a  good  deal  like  what 
we  had  been  doing,  only  more  so.  Even  Bill  said 
it  was  almost  as  good  as  being  Injuns  and  when 
Benny  heard  about  the  uniforms  he  hardly  could 
wait. 

"How  are  we  going  to  do  it?"  I  asked,  after 
we  had  talked  until  we  were  tired. 

"  That  is  what  I  came  to  tell  you  about,"  said 
Skinny.  "  Mr.  Norton,  who  teaches  my  class  in 
Sunday  school,  is  getting  one  up." 


(lo  "The  Band"  and  the  Cave 

"One  what,  Skinny?"  asked  Benny,  his  eyes 
bulging  out  Hke  saucers,  he  was  so  inter- 
ested. 

"  Something  he  called  a  '  patrol.'  You  see,  the 
Boy  Scouts  are  almost  like  an  army,  with  all  kinds 
of  officers,  only  they  call  them  different  names,  and 
the  different  companies  are  called  patrols.  He  is 
getting  up  a  patrol  in  the  Sunday  school  and  wanted 
me  in  that,  but  when  I  told  him  about  the  Band 
he  said  that  we  could  have  a  patrol  of  our  own, 
if  we  wanted  to.  There  are  eight  of  us,  you  know, 
and  that  is  just  enough.  I  don't  know  much  about 
it  yet,  but  Mr.  Norton  wants  me  to  bring  the  Band 
up  to  his  house  Monday  night  and  talk  it  over. 
He's  going  to  have  ice  cream;  I  heard  him  say  so 
to  Mrs.  Norton." 

When  he  said  that  last,  he  looked  at  Bill,  because 
Bill  liked  ice  cream,  although  he  didn't  seem  to 
think  much  of  the  Scout  business. 

"Will  you  go?"  asked  Skinny.  "I've  got  to 
tell  him  to-morrow,  so  he'll  know  how  much  ice 
cream  to  make." 

Benny  looked  at  me  and  I  could  see  by  the  way 


"The  Band"  and  the  Cave  ii 

his  eyes  were  shining  that  he  wanted  to  go.  But 
Bill  never  likes  to  change  his  mind. 

"  I  think  we  ought  to  vote  on  it,"  he  said,  "  and 
have  Pedro  put  it  in  the  minutes  of  the  meetin'." 

"  Shall  I  put  it  down  in  invisible  ink,"  I  asked, 
"  or  in  the  kind  that  shows?  " 

We  always  write  our  most  secret  doings  in 
invisible  ink,  made  of  lemon  juice,  so  that  nobody 
can  read  about  them.  We  don't  need  to  read  it 
ourselves,  because  we  know  all  about  it  anyway.  If 
we  want  to,  by  holding  the  writing  up  to  a  fire  we 
can  make  the  letters  show. 

"  Write  it  with  chalk,"  said  Skinny,  "  and  make 
the  letters  a  foot  high.  This  is  something  we  want 
folks  to  know  about." 

"  Uniforms  wouldn't  be  so  very  much  good,"  said 
Benny,  "  if  folks  couldn't  see  us  with  them  on." 

Skinny  nodded  his  head;  then  took  a  piece  of 
chalk  out  of  his  pocket,  and  commenced  to  mark 
on  the  clapboards,  back  of  the  sloping  roof. 

I  thought  at  first  that  he  was  going  to  write 
the  minutes  of  the  meeting  before  it  happened  and 
was  going  to  kick  about  it,  being  secretary.     Instead 


12  "  The  Band  "  and  the  Cave 

of  that,  however,  he  made  a  big  circle,  and  in  the 
center  of  the  circle  he  drew  a  picture  of  a  tomahawk. 
Then,  after  looking  at  a  watch  which  his  folks 
gave  him  for  Christmas,  he  put  the  figures  i8  above 
the  tomahawk,  and  i6  below. 

That  was  our  Indian  sign.  The  circle  meant  our 
cave  at  Peck's  Falls,  that  being  sort  of  round.  The 
figures  said  for  us  to  meet  on  the  eighteenth  day 
of  the  month,  at  the  sixteenth  hour,  which  would 
be  at  four  o'clock  that  very  afternoon.  We  had 
half  an  hour  in  which  to  get  to  the  cave. 

When  we  saw  the  Sign  we  all  gave  a  yell,  Bill 
Wilson  louder  than  anybody,  and  were  going  to 
start  for  the  cave  on  a  jump,  but  Skinny  hissed 
like  a  snake  and  held  up  one  hand  for  us  to  keep 
still. 

"  My  braves,"  said  he,  after  he  had  made  up  a 
lot  of  Indian  words,  which  we  couldn't  understand, 
only  they  sounded  fierce,  "  do  you  want  to  lose  your 
scalps  ?  You  don't  know  what  is  waitin'  for  us  on 
yonder  hill." 

We  didn't,  either.  If  we  had,  maybe  we  shouldn't 
have  gone. 


"The  Band"  and  the  Cave  13 

"  Follow  me,"  said  he.  "  Keep  behind  the  trees 
until  we  get  out  of  the  forest,  and  mum's  the 
word!" 

So,  with  Skinny  leading,  we  started,  dodging 
from  tree  to  tree  on  the  hillside,  until  we  came  to 
the  orchard  fence.  After  that  there  were  no  trees 
except  on  the  very  top. 

There  is  a  sort  of  road  leading  out  of  the  orchard 
and  winding  around  the  hill,  where  the  walking  is 
easy,  but  on  that  side  Bob's  Hill  itself  rises  almost 
straight  up  from  the  orchards,  and  the  slope 
is  covered  with  slippery  grass,  with  now  and 
then  a  big  stone  sticking  its  nose  out  of  the 
ground.  To  climb  it  you  have  to  dig  in  with 
the  sides  and  heels  of  your  shoes  and  work 
hard. 

Skinny  started  straight  up  and  we  after  him, 
except  Bill,  who  can  climb  faster  than  anybody. 
He  soon  was  ahead. 

As  Bill  neared  the  top,  forgetting  all  about 
danger,  Skinny  gave  a  warning  hiss.  Bill  looked 
back;  then  dropped  to  the  ground  and  began  to 
crawl  slowly  up,  pulling  at  the  grass  and  stones 


14  "The  Band"  and  the  Cave 

to  help  him  along.  The  rest  of  us  waited  to  see 
what  would  happen  to  Bill. 

In  a  few  minutes  we  saw  him  stick  his  head 
up  carefully  above  the  brow  of  the  hill.  Then 
he  dodged  down  out  of  sight  and  slid  back  part 
way  toward  us,  motioning  for  us  to  come  on  and 
not  to  make  any  noise. 

I  didn't  know  what  to  think  of  it,  for  I  hadn't 
really  supposed  anybody  would  be  there.  Skinny 
is  'most  always  careful  that  way  because,  he  says, 
you  never  can  tell  what  may  happen. 

"  Gee !  "  said  he,  when  Bill  motioned.  "  Didn't 
I  tell  you  they  pretty  near  had  me  surrounded? 
Steady  now,  and  mum's  the  word !  " 

Slowly  we  crawled  up  toward  Bill.  When  we 
had  come  up  even  with  him,  without  a  word  he 
crept  toward  the  top  of  the  hill,  we  crawling  along 
after  him,  and  my  heart  was  pounding  like  a  trip- 
hammer, partly  from  the  work  of  climbing  and 
partly  because  it  was  scary. 

Pretty  soon  we  began  to  hear  voices.  The  eight 
of  us  put  our  heads  up  at  about  the  same  time; 
then  sank  down  again  out  of  sight,  and  I  heard 


y.'r''/I,'11Jjji^-;j^^ 


^^ 


'Cv.-^ 


/■///f  (■'■ 


WITH    SKINNY   LEADING,    WE    STARTED,    DODGING   FROM 
TREE    TO    TREE. 


"The  Band"  and  the  Cave  15 

Skinny  whisper,  "Jerusalem!"  and  Bill  saying 
*' Great  snakes!"  to  himself. 

We  lay  there  for  a  moment,  looking  at  each 
other  and  not  knowing  what  to  do.  Then  Benny 
spoke  up. 

"  Come  on,  fellers,"  said  he.  *'  Who's  afraid 
of  them?     It's  only  a  lot  of  girls." 

That's  what  it  was.  About  twelve  high-school 
girls  were  sitting  there  under  a  tree,  with  lunch 
baskets  around,  looking  at  Greylock  and  waiting 
for  it  to  be  time  to  eat.  There  was  no  way  for 
us  to  pass  without  being  seen  except  to  go  back 
and  around  through  Plunkett's  woods,  and  we 
didn't  want  to  do  that. 

"  Let's  scare  'em,"  said  Skinny  at  last.  "  We'll 
yell  the  way  we  did  on  Greylock  that  time  we  scared 
the  wild  cat." 

"  It's  all  right  to  scare  'em,"  said  Hank,  "  for 
they  haven't  any  business  on  our  hill.  But  a  girl 
ain't  a  wild  cat  or  anything  like  it,  and  you  never 
can  tell  what  she  will  do.  They  may  not  scare 
worth  a  cent." 

"I'll  tell  you  what,"  I  said.     "If  we  all  yell. 


i6  "The  Band"  and  the  Cave 

they'll  know  that  it  must  be  the  Band.  So  let's 
have  only  one  yell.  Give  Bill  a  chance  and  there 
will  be  something  doing." 

We  left  Bill  and  crawled  up  to  where  we  could 
see  them  and  they  couldn't  see  us.  Then  he  com- 
menced. 

Say,  I've  heard  Bill  Wilson  a  lot  of  times,  but  I 
never  heard  anything  like  that.  Although  I  knew 
what  was  doing  it,  shivers  chased  up  and  down 
my  back,  until  I  'most  forgot  about  the  girls. 

He  started  with  a  moan  like  he  was  ''n  pain. 
Then  for  a  minute  it  sounded  as  if  a  whole 
menagerie  had  been  turned  loose,  with  a  dog  figh« 
in  the  middle.  From  the  midst  of  the  dog  fight 
came  a  blood-curdling  screech  which  died  away 
again  in  a  moan  and  sob,  and  then  all  was  still 
while  Bill  was  getting  his  breath  for  another. 

It  was  awful  to  hear,  and  the  girls  didn't  wait 
for  another,  or  even  for  the  sob  part.  At  the 
first  moan  they  started  to  their  feet,  looking  around 
with  scared  faces,  and  when  the  menagerie  turned 
loose  away  they  went  on  a  run. 

"  Charge,  my  braves !  "  cried  Skinny,  as  soon  as 


"The  Band"  and  the  Cave  17 

he  could  stop  laughing  long  enough  to  speak. 
"  Let's  surround  'em." 

With  a  yell,  we  charged  across  the  top  of  the 
hill,  down  the  slope  beyond  and  into  a  field  which 
rose  gently  up  to  Plunkett's  woods. 

Just  before  the  girls  reached  the  woods  one  of 
them  looked  back,  saw  us,  and  told  the  others.  I 
thought  they  would  run  harder  than  ever  when 
they  saw  us  coming,  but  it  was  just  as  Hank  said 
about  not  knowing  what  they  would  do.  They 
turned  and  stood  there,  the  whole  twelve  of  them, 
looking  so  mad  that  we  stopped  running  and  waited 
to  see  what  would  happen. 

"  We  know  who  you  are,  Skinny  Miller,"  said 
the  one  who  had  seen  us  first,  "  and  you  ought 
to  be  ashamed  of  yourself.  We'll  fix  you  for 
this." 

She  said  something  to  the  others,  which  we 
couldn't  hear,  and  pointed  toward  us.  Then  they 
stooped  and  each  one  grabbed  a  stick  from  the  edge 
of  the  woods. 

"Great  snakes!"  said  Bill.  "I  wish  I  hadn't 
come." 


i8  "The  Band"  and  the  Cave 

"  Fellers,"  said  Skinny,  looking  at  his  watch. 
*'  It's  'most  four  o'clock.  We'll  have  to  run  like 
sixty  if  we  get  to  the  cave  in  time  for  the  meetin'." 

There  are  a  lot  of  boys  who  never  saw  a  moun- 
tain, and  the  Band,  even,  never  saw  the  Rockies 
and  big  mountains  like  those.  But  Greylock  is  big 
enough  for  us.  On  a  summer  day,  with  fleecy 
clouds  chasing  over  his  head  like  great,  white  butter- 
flies; sunshine  resting  on  the  pine  trees,  and  the 
mountain  smiling  down  on  us  with  arms  out- 
stretched, as  if  he  would  gather  in  all  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  a  part  of  Vermont,  and  the  cawing 
of  crows  in  the  Bellows  Pipe,  and  no  school  to 
call  us  back — say,  that's  living;  that  is! 

Soon  we  came  to  the  woods  and  followed  along 
a  path  until  we  could  hear  the  rushing  and  roaring 
of  Peck's  Falls  in  front  of  us,  sounding  as  if  old 
Greylock  himself  was  talking. 

We  stopped  at  Pulpit  Rock  a  minute  to  see  the 
falls  and  the  foaming  pool  below;  then  followed 
Skinny  down  the  side  of  the  steep  ravine  to  our 
cave  at  the  edge  of  the  stream. 

"  The  meetin'  will  come  to  order,"  said  Skinny, 


"  The  Band  "  and  the  Cave  19 

after  we  had  crawled  in  and  were  sitting  on  the 
floor.     "  Are  we  all  here  ?  " 

"  I  am,"  said  Benny,  "  and  I,"  "  and  I,"  "  and 
I,"  said  the  others,  faster  than  I  could  count  them. 

"  All  the  fellers  that  want  to  go  to  Mr.  Norton's," 
said  Skinny,  as  soon  as  he  had  found  that  every- 
body was  there,  "  to  see  about  this  Scout  business — 
and  eat  ice  cream,"  he  added,  looking  at  Bill  when 
he  said  it,  "  mark  a  cross  on  the  floor  of  the  cave 
with  your  knives." 

Everybody  marked  except  Bill.  He  didn't  have 
his  knife  with  him. 

"  It's  all  right,"  said  he.  "  I'll  go,  anyhow, 
knife  or  no  knife.  I'd  rather  be  an  Injun  than  a 
Scout  any  day  in  the  week,  but  there  ain't  any  use 
letting  that  ice  cream  go  to  waste." 

"  'Tis  well,"  said  Skinny.     "  We  have  spoken.'* 


CHAPTER  II 

RAVEN  PATROL  HITS  THE  TRAIL 

WHEN  Monday  night  came,  the  Band  met  at 
Skinny's  and  went  from  there  to  Mr.  Nor- 
ton's. He  seemed  glad  to  see  us  and  started  in 
for  a  good  time  without  saying  a  word  about  the 
Scout  business.  I  was  just  going  to  ask  him  about 
it  when  Mrs.  Norton  brought  in  the  ice  cream. 
After  that  we  were  too  busy  to  ask  anything. 

When  at  last  we  had  eaten  all  that  we  wanted 
and  Bill  had  put  away  three  dishes,  Mr.  Norton 
gathered  us  around  him  and  said  that  he  would 
tell  us  a  story,  if  we  wished  to  hear  it. 

We  told  him  to  go  ahead,  and,  after  thinking  a 
moment,  he  began. 

"  You  boys  probably  do  not  remember  the  Boer 
war  in  Africa.  You  were  too  young  at  the  time. 
During  that  war  the  Boers  surrounded  a  town 
called  Mafeking.     All  the  able-bodied  men  were 


Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  21 

needed  for  fighting  in  order  to  defend  the  city 
and  could  not  be  spared  for  the  work  of  carrying 
despatches  and  things  hke  that. 

"  They  had  some  Hvely  lads  in  that  town.  As 
soon  as  the  boys  found  out  the  situation  they  made 
up  their  minds  that  they  could  do  that  kind  of 
work  just  as  well  as  the  men  could.  They  did, 
too.  Back  and  forth  they  hurried  on  bicycles, 
through  a  rain  of  bullets,  from  fort  to  fort,  carry- 
ing messages  and  scouting.  I  tell  you,  those  Eng- 
lish boys  were  heroes.  I  don't  see  how  they  es- 
caped being  killed.  They  must  have  dodged  the 
bullets." 

When  Skinny  heard  Mr.  Norton  speak  of  their 
being  English  boys  he  looked  troubled,  because 
Skinny  thinks  a  lot  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

"Is  this  an  English  story,  Mr.  Norton?"  he 
asked.  "  Because  if  it  is  I  don't  know  about  it. 
How  about  George  Washington,  Bunker  Hill,  see- 
ing the  whites  of  the  enemy's  eyes,  and  all  those 
things?  We  named  our  boat  out  on  Fox  River 
in  Illinois,  the  '  Paul  Revere.'  " 

*'  Guess  what !  "  put  in  Benny,  laughing  at  some- 


22  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  ' 

thing  he  was  thinking.  *'  Skinny  couldn't  dodge 
any  bullets?  'Cause  why?  He's  too  fat.  They 
couldn't  miss  him." 

"  Aw,  what's  the  matter  with  you?  "  said  Skinny. 
"  I  could  dodge  as  many  as  you  could,  I  guess. 
If  a  bullet  hit  you  there  wouldn't  be  anything  left 
of  you;  that's  what.     Why,  I " 

"  A  hero  is  a  hero,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  before 
Skinny  kad  time  to  finish,  "  and  a  boy  is  a  boy,  I 
guess,  no  matter  in  what  country  he  happens  to 
live.  I  have  heard  all  about  the  Band,  and  I  know 
that  if  you  had  been  in  Maf eking  that  time  you 
would  have  been  among  the  first  to  volunteer  for 
scout  service,  bullets  or  no  bullets,  and  Washington 
or  no  Washington." 

"  Hurrah !  "  yelled  Bill,  forgetting  where  he  was. 
"  That's  the  stuff.  Injun  or  no  Injun,  too.  I 
knew  an  English  boy  once,  and  he  was  all  right. 
Say,  you  ought  to  have  seen  him  in  a  scrap." 

Mr.  Norton  laughed  and  went  on  with  his 
story. 

"  A  few  years  later  Gen.  Robert  Baden-Powell, 
who  had  been  colonel  in  command  of  the  English 


Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  23 

forces  at  Mafeking,  got  to  thinking  about  those 
boys  in  South  Africa  and  how  manly  it  made  them 
to  help  in  the  scouting.  He  liked  boys  and  he 
made  up  his  mind  that  if  scouting  had  been  good 
for  those  boys  it  would  be  good  for  any  boys. 
Not  the  tignting  part,  I  mean,  but  the  outdoor  life, 
learning  to  take  care  of  themselves  in  the  wilder- 
ness, make  camps,  build  fires,  find  their  way 
through  the  forest,  follow  a  trail,  and  such  things. 
So  he  called  a  meeting  of  a  lot  of  boys  and  talked 
to  them  and  showed  them  how  to  do  it.  They 
played  at  being  Indians  mostly." 

"  They  don't  have  Injuns  in  England,"  said  Bill, 
shaking  his  head,  "  unless  it's  in  a  Wild  West  show, 
and  that  doesn't  count." 

"  You  are  stopping  the  story.  Bill,"  Skinny  told 
him.     "What's  the  difference?" 

"Well,  they  don't,"  grumbled  Bill. 

*'  Anyhow,"  Mr.  Norton  went  on,  "  the  boys  en- 
joyed the  play,  and  the  idea  spread  like  wildfire, 
until  now  there  are  Boy  Scouts  all  over  the  world. 
In  America  here  Ernest  Thompson  Seton  had 
much  the  same  idea.     He  was  teaching  the  boys 


24  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail 

woodcraft,  camp  life,  and  such  things  by  organiz- 
ing the  Seton  Indians  that  you  may  have  heard 
about.  Then  he  went  to  England,  where  he  and 
General  Baden-Powell  put  their  heads  together  and 
worked  out  the  Boy  Scout  idea.  In  this  country 
the  boys  are  known  as  *  the  Boy  Scouts  of  Amer- 
ica,' but  nearly  every  civilized  nation  has  its  Boy 
Scouts  under  some  name  or  other,  and  the  move- 
ment is  very  popular  among  the  boys. 

*'  I  invited  you  up  here  to-night  to  get  acquainted 
with  the  Band.  Skinny,  I  mean  Gabriel,  tells  me 
that  you  are  all  live  wires.  I  want  to  know  if 
you  will  join  the  Scouts.  You  can  have  a  patrol 
of  your  own,  select  your  own  patrol  leader  and 
your  own  patrol  animal." 

"What's  a  patrol  animal?"  we  asked. 

"  Patrol  animal  ?  Why,  each  patrol  is  named 
after  some  animal,  and  the  Scouts  all  have  to  be 
able  to  imitate  its  call,  so  that  they  can  let  each 
other  know  where  they  are  hiding." 

When  Mr.  Norton  told  us  that  you  hardly  could 
have  heard  yourself  think  for  a  minute.  Mrs.  Nor- 
ton didn't  know  what  had  broken  loose  and  came 


Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  25 

running  in  from  the  next  room.  Skinny  was 
hissing  like  a  snake;  Bill  croaked  like  a  frog;  Benny 
cawed  like  a  crow;  Hank  barked  like  a  dog,  and 
the  other  boys  did  something  else,  and  nobody 
could  tell  what  they  were  doing. 

"  You  seem  to  have  the  right  idea,"  smiled  Mr. 
Norton. 

There  was  a  lot  more  to  it,  uniforms  and  rules 
and  signs  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  but  that  doesn't 
belong  in  this  history.  It  didn't  take  us  long  to 
decide  that  we  would  go  in.  Bill  Wilson  was  the 
craziest  one  in  the  bunch. 

Mr.  Norton  thought  that  we  ought  to  decide  on 
a  patrol  leader  before  we  went  home.  We  told 
him  that  there  was  nothing  to  decide. 

"  Skinny  is  captain,  all  right,"  said  Benny,  "  and 
the  Band  is  the  Band,  I  guess,  whether  we  are 
Scouts  or  Injuns." 

"  Yes,  I'm  captain  of  the  Band,"  Skinny  told 
him,  when  Mr.  Norton  waited  to  see  what  he  had 
to  say  about  it,  "  but  I  don't  know  about  this  patrol 
business.  It  wouldn't  do  to  vote  on  it  here,  any- 
way.    The  cave  is  where  we  meet.     We  ought  to 


26  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail 

vote  in  the  cave,  seeing  it  is  summer  time.     If  it 
was  winter  we  could  meet  in  Pedro's  barn." 

We  left  it  that  way  and  were  so  busy  during  the 
closing  days  of  school  that  we  didn't  have  time 
to  think  much  more  about  it  until  Friday.  When 
we  came  in  from  afternoon  recess,  there  was  the 
Sign,  as  big  as  life,  drawn  with  chalk  on  the  black- 
board. 

I  saw  teacher  looking  at  it,  sort  of  puzzled,  as 
if  she  was  wondering  what  it  all  was  about,  and 
some  of  the  girls  were  giggling  at  it.  They  seemed 
to  think  it  was  a  joke  of  some  kind,  instead  of 
something  important.  Anyhow,  the  Sign  said  for 
us  to  meet  at  the  cave,  Saturday,  at  ten  o'clock. 

Saturday  morning,  long  before  ten,  every  boy 
was  at  our  house,  that  being  nearest  to  the  cave. 
Each  one  carried  a  lot  of  good  things  to  eat,  so 
we  should  not  have  to  go  home  for  dinner  unless 
we  wanted  to. 

Besides  his  dinner  Hank  had  with  him  a  little 
camera,  which  his  folks  had  given  to  him  on  his 
birthday  because  he  promised  not  to  make  any 
more   awful   smells   with   chemicals   in  the   cellar. 


Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  27 

Hank  was  always  mixing  things  to  see  what  would 
happen  and  he  pretty  near  blew  his  house  up  at 
one  time.  He  is  an  inventor,  too,  and  says  that 
when  .he  grows  up  he  is  going  to  make  a  flying 
machine.  He  nearly  made  one  once.  He  made  a 
kite  that  would  pull  us  uphill  on  our  sleds. 

One  time  he  made  a  spanking  machine  which 
worked  with  a  crank,  and  when  teacher  wanted  us 
to  lick  Bill  we  spanked  him  with  it.  Only  we  laid 
a  horse  hair  across  the  seat  of  his  pants  to  see 
what  it  would  do  and  it  broke  the  machine.  Of 
course,  he  didn't  make  the  camera,  but  he  had  a 
place  down  cellar  where  he  developed  and  printed 
his  pictures  after  the  camera  had  taken  them. 

"  Gee,  fellers,"  said  Skinny,  "  Hank  is  goin'  to 
take"  our  pictures.     Everybody  look  pleasant." 

"  Not  on  your  life,"  Hank  told  him.  "  You'd 
break  the  machine;  that's  what." 

We  went  up  through  Blackinton's  orchard  and 
followed  the  road  around  to  the  top  of  the  hill. 

In  a  field,  a  little  west  of  the  top,  the  same  field 
where  we  chased  the  high-school  girls,  stand  what 
we  call  the  "  twin  stones."     They  are  big  ones,  six 


28  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail 

feet  high  and  maybe  more.  One  of  these  we  use 
for  a  fireplace.  It  is  near  Phmkett's  woods,  where 
it  is  always  easy  to  find  dry  sticks  to  burn.  A  piece 
of  the  rock  has  been  split  off  in  such  a  way  that  it 
makes  a  kind  of  hearth,  with  a  place  between  for 
a  fire. 

"  Let's  come  back  here  for  dinner,"  I  said. 
"  When  we  build  a  fire  in  the  cave  the  smoke  makes 
our  eyes  smart.     What  do  you  say?" 

So  we  went  into  the  woods  and  hid  our  lunch 
and  some  potatoes,  which  we  had  carried  in  our 
pockets  to  cook,  but  Hank  wouldn't  leave  his 
camera.  He  said  it  cost  too  much  to  let  it  lie 
around  in  the  woods.  His  folks  paid  three  dollars 
for  it. 

Then  we  hurried  on  to  the  cave. 

"  Open  sesame!  "  said  Skinny,  pounding  the  out- 
side of  the  cave  with  a  club,  like  the  robber  did 
in  "  Arabian  Nights." 

"  Is  she  open?  "  asked  Bill,  who  was  in  a  hurry 
to  get  in. 

Skinny  didn't  answer.  He  was  peering  up  and 
down  the  ravine  to  see  if  anybody  was  looking. 


Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  29 

When  he  found  that  no  one  was  in  sight  he  mo- 
tioned for  us  to  go  in. 

"  Old  Long  Knife  will  guard  the  pass,"  said  he. 

And  he  did,  for  when  I  put  my  head  out  of  the 
cave  a  little  later  to  find  out  why  he  did  not  come, 
he  was  fighting  like  sixty.  He  swung  his  club  and 
jumped  around  for  a  minute;  then  gave  a  fearful 
whack  and  drew  himself  up  with  his  arms  folded, 
like  an  Injun  or  a  bandit. 

"  Lie  there,  villain !  "  he  hissed.  "  Sick  semper 
turn  us,  and  don't  you  forget  it." 

After  that  he  came  in  with  his  face  all  red, 
he  had  been  working  so  hard.  We  already  had  the 
candle  lighted  and  were  ready  to  begin. 

"  Fellers,"  said  Skinny,  when  we  all  had  sat  down 
on  the  floor  in  front  of  him  and  I  had  called  the 
roll.  "  I  don't  know  whether  this  is  the  Band  or 
the  patrol,  or  whether  we  are  bandits,  or  Injuns, 
or  Scouts,  and  I  don't  know  that  it  makes  much 
difference.  I  am  captain  of  the  Band,  but  what 
we  want  to  find  out  is,  who  is  leader  of  the  patrol. 
W^e  could  fight  for  it,  perhaps,  only  I  hate  to  muss 
my  clothes." 


3©  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail 

Some  looked  at  Bill,  for  we  knew  that  he  kind 
of  wanted  to  be  leader.  He  would  make  a  good 
one,  too,  only  it  seemed  to  belong  to  Skinny. 

Nobody  said  a  thing  for  'most  a  minute.  Then 
Benny  stood  up,  bumped  his  head  against  the  roof 
of  the  cave,  and  sat  down  again. 

"  Mighty  chief,"  said  he,  when  we  were  through 
laughing  at  him,  "  may  I  speak  and  live  ?  " 

He  never  had  said  that  before  and  it  surprised 
us. 

"  You  may,"  said  Skinny,  looking  fierce  and 
swinging  his  club. 

"  Fellers,"  began  Benny,  "  Skinny  was  a  good 
enough  leader  when  we  went  'sploring  out  in  Illinois 
last  summer  and  I  'most  got  drowned  in  Fox  River, 
and  he  was  a  good  enough  leader  when  we  found 
a  tramp  in  this  'ere  cave  and  smoked  him  out.  He 
lassoed  the  robber,  that  time,  didn't  he,  when  the 
guy  was  stealin'  Hank's  pearl,  and — and — lots  of 
things?  I  guess  that  anybody  who  could  do  that 
is  good  enough  to  be  patrol  leader." 

That  was  a  long  speech  for  Benny  to  make,  and 
we  all  patted  him  on  the  back  except  Bill,  who  sat 


Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  31 

thinking  and  getting  ready  to  say  something.  All 
of  a  sudden  he  spoke  up. 

"  Fellers,"  said  he,  "  three  cheers  for  Skinny 
Miller,  who  is  always  there  with  the  goods." 

"  You're  out  of  order,"  Skinny  told  him,  but 
nobody  could  hear. 

I  shouldn't  wonder  if  they  heard  us  voting  clear 
down  in  the  village. 

We  also  had  to  have  an  assistant  patrol  leader, 
called  a  corporal,  and  we  elected  Bill  Wilson.  Bill 
is  great  at  such  things.  As  corporal  he  would  be 
in  command  whenever  Skinny  was  away.  That 
didn't  count  for  much,  though,  for  Skinny 
is  almost  always  around  when  anything  is 
going  on. 

The  next  thing  to  do  was  to  decide  upon  our 
patrol  animal,  like  the  book  said. 

At  first  we  couldn't  agree  very  well  on  that. 
Nearly  every  one  wanted  a  different  animal. 
Skinny  wanted  us  to  choose  a  snake  because  he 
liked  the  hissing  part  and  a  picture  of  a  snake  would 
be  easy  to  draw  on  our  signs. 

Hank  and  Bill  thought  a  dog  would  be  best. 


32  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail 

"  A  dog,"  said  Bill,  "  is  man's  best  friend,  and 
that  is  what  Scouts  are  for." 

Hank  could  bark  like  a  dog.  That  was  why  he 
wanted  it. 

Benny  thought  a  crow  would  be  the  thing,  but 
it  seemed  to  me  that  the  American  eagle  would 
be  better.  We  heard  one  once  on  Greylock  and 
it  was  great. 

Skinny  liked  the  eagle  pretty  well,  especially  the 
American  part,  but  when  he  found  that  Benny 
Wade  wanted  a  crow  he  said  he  was  for  a  crow, 
too.  That  was  because  Benny  had  made  the 
speech. 

"  A  snake  is  all  right  for  some  things,"  he  said, 
"  and  you  don't  want  to  step  on  them  or  on  us. 
Don't  you  remember  that  old  flag  which  had  a 
rattlesnake  on  it  and  the  words,  *  Don't  tread  on 
me  '  ?  The  hissing  is  all  right,  too,  when  we  are 
close  together  and  can  hear,  but  how  about  it 
when  we  are  not?  What  if  I  was  hiding  in 
Plunkett's  woods  and  you  were  on  the  way  to  the 
cave  and  I  should  be  attacked  by  Injuns  or  some- 
thing.    I  might  hiss  until  I  was  black  in  the  face 


Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  33 

and  who'd  hear  me?  You  could  hear  me  caw  al- 
most to  Peck's  Falls." 

"  Yes,  that's  so  about  snakes,"  I  told  them.  "  I 
don't  think  much  of  snakes  myself.  But  I  don't 
know  about  crows.  The  eagle  is  such  a  noble 
bird." 

"  Noble  nothin' !  "  said  he.  "  What  did  an  eagle 
ever  do  that  was  noble  any  more  than  a  crow  ?  Be- 
sides a  crow  can  talk  if  you  split  its  tongue.  I 
read  it  in  a  book.  You  can't  draw  an  eagle.  You'd 
have  to  write  under  it  what  it  was." 

"  So  you  would  under  a  crow,"  I  told  him. 

"  Anyhow,"  he  went  on,  "  I'll  bet  nobody  here 
can  make  a  noise  like  an  eagle.  Let's  hear  you 
do  it,  Pedro.     Cawing  is  easy." 

That  ended  the  eagle  business.  Skinny  was 
right.  Not  one  of  us  could  make  a  noise  like  an 
eagle. 

*'  What  makes  you  want  it  a  crow,  Benny  ? " 
asked  Hank. 

"  I  don't  know  how  to  tell  it,"  said  Benny,  sort 
of  bashful  like.  "  I  wasn't  thinking  about  draw- 
ing it.     A  crow  would  be  hard  to  draw,  I  guess, 


34  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail 

but  we  could  make  something  that  looked  like  a 
bird  and  we  boys  would  know  what  bird  was  meant. 
I  wasn't  thinking  either  whether  it  was  noble  or 
not.  Maybe  a  crow  ain't  exactly  noble,  but  some- 
how when  I  see  a  big  fellow  soaring  around  in  the 
Bellows  Pipe,  between  the  mountains,  it  makes  me 
feel  kind  of  noble  myself  and  as  if  I  ought  to  soar, 
too.  And  when  I  hear  the  cawing  of  a  crow,  no 
matter  where  I  am,  even  in  North  Adams  or  Pitts- 
field,  I  can  see  Bob's  Hill  and  old  Greylock  and 
the  Bellows  Pipe,  and  big  crows  flying  around  in 
the  air  as  if  they  owned  them  all.  We  are  Bob's 
Hill  boys  and  Greylock  boys.  That's  why  I  want 
it  a  crow.     They  sort  of  belong  together." 

We  never  had  thought  of  that  before,  but  when 
we  came  to  talk  it  over  it  seemed  that  way  to  us, 
too.  So  we  chose  the  crow  for  our  patrol  animal, 
only  we  didn't  call  ourselves  "  the  crows  "  but  "  the 
ravens,"  because  it  sounded  so  much  nobler.  While 
we  can't  draw  a  very  good  one  when  we  make  our 
signs,  it  looks  some  like  a  bird  and  we  all  know 
wh^t  kind  it  is,  as  Benny  said. 

By  that  time  we  were  getting  hungry  and  so 


Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail  35 

we  made  a  bee-line  for  Plunkett's  woods,  sounding 
as  if  a  whole  flock  of  crows  were  starting  south. 

"  Everybody  scatter  for  wood,"  shouted  Skinny, 
when  we  had  come  to  the  big  stone  where  we  build 
our  fires.     "  I'll  get  the  grub." 

We  ran  to  different  parts  of  the  woods  where 
we  knew  there  were  dead  branches  lying  on  the 
ground,  trying  to  see  which  would  get  a  fire  going 
first.  Then,  just  as  Bill  and  I  met  at  the  stone, 
with  arms  full  of  sticks,  and  the  others  close  be- 
hind, we  heard  a  terrible  cawing  over  in  the  woods, 
only  it  didn't  sound  so  much  like  a  crow  as  it  did 
like  Skinny. 

We  looked  at  one  another,  wondering  w^hat  it  all 
meant,  for  the  Scout  business  was  new  to  us.  Be- 
sides it  sounded  as  if  something  had  happened. 

"  'Tention,  Scouts,"  said  Bill,  in  a  hurry  to  get 
in  his  work  as  corporal  while  Skinny  was  away. 
"  Everybody  caw !  " 

We  made  a  great  racket.  In  a  moment  there 
came  an  answering  caw  from  the  woods;  then 
Skinny  stepped  out  into  the  clearing  in  plain  £:;;!it 
and  motioned  for  us  to  come. 


36  Raven  Patrol  Hits  the  Trail 

We  knew  something  was  the  matter  and  started 
for  the  woods  on  a  jump,  the  corporal  in  the  lead. 

"  It's  gone ! "  shouted  Skinny,  when  we  had 
come  near.     "  Some  guy  has  stolen  our  dinner." 

"  Great  snakes !  "  groaned  Bill.  "  And  I'm 
starving  to  death." 

We  all  gathered  around  the  place  where  we  had 
hidden  the  things  under  some  bushes.  Skinny  was 
right;  they  were  gone.     I  tell  you  he  was  mad. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  we  are  Scouts  or  bandits 
or  Injuns,"  said  he,  "  and  I  don't  care,  but  I'd  like 
to  get  hold  of  the  critter  that  stole  our  dinner. 
We  wouldn't  do  a  thing  to  him.  Oh,  no.  Maybe 
not." 

"  Everybody  scatter,"  he  shouted.  "  Look  for 
signs  and  tracks.  We'll  follow  him  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth." 


CHAPTER  III 


TRACKING  THE  ROBBERS 


WE  didn't  have  any  idea  who  took  our  things 
and  there  didn't  seem  to  be  any  way  of 
finding  out.  The  ground  in  the  woods  was  car- 
peted with  pine  needles,  which  left  no  trace  of 
footprints. 

We  thought  that  maybe  those  girls  that  we  had 
chased  had  taken  our  dinner  to  get  even,  and  it 
might  have  been  the  Summer  Street  boys,  or  maybe 
the  Gingham  Ground  Gang. 

We  scattered,  like  Skinny  told  us,  and  gradually 
worked  out  from  the  center,  crawling  on  our  hands 
and  knees,  and  watching  every  inch  of  the  ground 
and  the  bushes. 

We  didn't  get  any  trace  at  all  until  I  found  a 
potato.  Then  Skinny,  who  was  a  little  ahead  of 
me  and  at  one  side,  gave  a  groan  and  yelled : 

"  Here's  my  wishbone.     They've  eaten  all  my 

fried  chicken." 

37 


38  Tracking  the  Robbers 

It  always  makes  Skinny  mad  to  have  somebody 
eat  his  fried  chicken. 

Farther  on  we  found  pieces  of  eggshell  and 
then  more,  as  if  somebody  had  peeled  an  tgg  while 
walking  and  thrown  the  shells  on  the  ground. 

We  knew  then  that  there  was  no  chance  of  get- 
ting our  dinners  back,  but  we  followed  the  trail, 
just  the  same. 

After  a  time  we  came  to  the  queerest  looking 
tracks,  where  somebody  had  stepped  on  a  soft  piece 
of  ground.     Benny  found  them  first. 

"  The  spoor !  "  he  yelled.  "  The  spoor !  I've 
found  the  spoor." 

"  Well,  don't  tell  the  whole  town  about  it,"  said 
Skinny.     "  Keep  quiet  and  we'll  surround  'em." 

"  But  the  chicken  and  eggs  are  gone,"  he  added, 
after  a  moment.  "  I  was  going  to  give  you  some 
of  that  chicken,  Bill." 

We  stopped  and  had  a  long  look  at  the  tracks. 
There  were  four  footprints  and  a  hole,  which 
looked  as  if  it  had  been  made  with  a  stick,  or  cane. 
Three  of  the  prints  were  like  those  which  any 
man  would  make  in  walking  and  one  was  the  print 


Tracking  the  Robbers  39 

of  a  bare  foot,  only  it  had  a  queer  look  that  we- 
couldn't  understand. 

"  We've  got  'em,"  whispered  Skinny.  "  We'll 
know  that  footprint  again  anywhere  we  find  it. 
Forward,  and  mum's  the  word !  " 

Twice  after  that  we  found  the  same  queer  foot- 
print; once  in  the  dust  of  a  road  that  runs  along 
the  south  side  of  Plunkett's  woods,  and  again  on 
the  edge  of  a  brook  which  comes  down  from  the 
mountain  somewhere. 

Then  we  lost  the  trail  and  didn't  know  where 
to  go.  Just  because  we  didn't  know  what  else  to 
do,  we  followed  the  brook  up,  until  we  came  to  a 
gully  out  of  sight  from  the  road. 

Skinny  was  ahead,  aiming  with  his  stick  and 
saying  what  he  would  do  if  he  should  catch  the 
fellow  that  stole  his  chicken.  All  of  a  sudden  we 
saw  him  drop  behind  a  bush  and  lie  still.  We 
dropped,  too.  We  didn't  know  what  for,  but  I've 
noticed  that  it  is  'most  always  a  good  thing  to  drop 
first  and  find  out  why  afterward.  Then  we  crawled 
slov%'ly  up  to  him  to  see  what  had  happened. 

There,  sitting  on  the  ground  in  a  grassy  ravine. 


40  Tracking  the  Robbers 

near  the  brook,  were  two  men,  and  they  were  eat- 
ing what  remained  of  our  lunch.  One  of  them 
had  his  left  shoe  off  and  his  foot  done  up  in  a 
bandage.  That  was  what  had  made  the  track  look 
so  queer. 

Now  that  we  had  caught  them  we  didn't  know 
what  to  do  with  them,  for  they  were  too  big  for 
us  to  tackle. 

"  I  believe  we  could  get  away  with  the  lame  one," 
whispered  Skinny,  "  only  they  have  about  eaten  it 
all  up;  so  what's  the  use?  Besides,  the  other  one 
looks  as  big  as  a  house." 

"  If  we  only  had  a  rope.  Skinny,"  said  Benny, 
"  you  could  creep  up  behind  and  lasso  them,  the 
same  as  you  did  the  robber  out  near  Starved  Rock." 

"  Bet  your  life  I  could,"  he  replied,  "  but  we 
haven't  got  one.  Fellers,  don't  you  ever  go  out 
again  without  a  rope.  You  can't  ever  tell  when 
you  will  need  it." 

"  Great  snakes ! "  said  Bill,  thinking  of  the 
chicken  Skinny  had  been  going  to  give  him.  "  I'm 
starving  to  death.  Let's  heave  some  rocks  at  'em, 
anyhow,  and  then  run." 


Tracking  the  Robbers  41 

He  picked  up  a  big  stone  as  he  spoke  and  was 
going  to  throw  it,  when  Hank  caught  his  arm. 

"  Wait,"  said  he.  "  I  know  a  trick  worth  two 
of  that.     I'm  going  to  shoot  'em." 

"  Shoot  them  ?  "  I  gasped  in  surprise.  "  What 
with?" 

"  With  my  camera.  You  fellows  stay  here  out 
of  sight  and  caw  like  a  crow  if  they  make  any 
move  before  I  am  ready  for  them.  HI  can  only 
get  behind  that  clump  of  bushes  back  of  them  with- 
out their  seeing  me,  I'll  take  their  picture." 

"  Aw,  cut  it  out,"  said  Bill. 

But  Hank  was  gone,  and  after  a  little  we  could 
see  him  running  through  a  field  out  of  sight  of 
the  men,  so  as  to  come  into  the  ravine  from  the 
other  end.  Pretty  soon  we  saw  him  crawling  in, 
creeping  from  bush  to  bush,  in  sight  only  for  a 
second  at  a  time. 

There  was  not  a  sound  except  the  voices  of  the 
men,  who  were  talking  about  something,  and  the 
ground  might  have  opened  and  swallowed  Hank 
for  all  we  could  see  of  him. 

We  waited  a  long  time  and  began  to  get  nervous, 


42  Tracking  the  Robbers 

not  knowing  what  had  happened,  and  I  saw  Bill 
feeling  around  for  another  stone. 

Then  all  of  a  sudden  Hank  stood  up  above  the 
bushes  he  had  told  us  about.  He  looked  toward 
where  he  knew  we  were  hiding  and  put  one  finger 
to  his  lips.  Then  he  tossed  a  stone  toward  the 
men  and  dropped  down  out  of  sight  again  before 
it  could  fall. 

"  Great  snakes !  "  whispered  Bill.  "If  he's  goin' 
to  throw,  why  don't  he  do  it,  and  not  give  a  baby 
toss  like  that  ?  " 

Skinny  held  up  one  hand  warningly  as  the  pebble 
fell  into  the  brook  right  back  of  the  men,  making 
a  little  splash  and  gurgle,  as  if  a  frog,  or  maybe 
a  trout,  had  leaped  out  after  a  fly. 

When  they  heard  it  both  men  jumped  up  and 
stood  there  in  the  sunshine,  looking  toward  the 
sound.  We  couldn't  see  Hank,  but  knew  that  he 
was  somewhere  in  the  bushes  taking  their  picture. 

You  almost  could  have  heard  our  hearts  beat 
for  a  minute,  not  knowing  what  would  happen. 
Then  the  men  sat  down  again  and  went  on  talking. 

We  waited  five  minutes  to  give  Hank  a  chance 


Tracking  the  Robbers  43 

to  get  away,  and  crawled  back  the  way  we  had 
come.  When  we  reached  the  road  we  heard  a  crow 
cawing  in  the  woods  and  knew  that  he  was  safe. 

"  You  answer,  Benny,"  said  Skinny.  "  You  do 
it  best." 

He  gave  three  caws  so  real  that  I  almost  thought 
it  was  a  sure  enough  crow.  Hank  joined  us  and 
we  hurried  down  the  road  toward  home,  hoping 
that  the  dinner  would  not  be  all  eaten  up, 

"Did  you  get  the  picture?"  I  asked. 

He  nodded.  "  I  think  so,  but  I  can't  be  sure 
until  it  has  been  developed.  I  had  a  splendid 
chance.  They  stood  just  right  and  there  was  a 
fine  opening  through  the  bushes." 

"  It  took  you  a  long  time,"  grumbled  Bill.  "  I 
could  have  hit  them  with  a  rock  easy." 

"  I  was  trying  to  hear  what  they  were  saying. 
I  couldn't  hear  very  well,  but  I  think  they  are 
robbers  or  something." 

"  You  bet  they  are  robbers,"  said  Skinny. 
"Didn't  they  steal  my  fried  chicken?" 

We  didn't  think  much  more  about  the  men  be- 
cause we  had  important  work  on  hand.     The  first 


^4  Tracking  the  Robbers 

thing  we  had  to  do  was  to  eat  dinner.  That  is 
always  important,  especially  when  your  mother 
knows  how  to  cook  beefsteak  that  makes  you  crazy 
just  to  smell.  After  that  came  a  ball  game.  Our 
nine,  the  "  Invincibles,"  played  a  picked  nine  from 
Summer  Street.     We  beat,  25  to  19. 

I  didn't  see  any  of  the  boys  again  until  in 
church,  Sunday  morning.  When  I  went  in  Bill 
Wilson  was  there,  looking  so  dressed  up  that  I 
hardly  knew  him. 

He  saw  me  and  motioned  for  me  to  come  into 
his  pew,  but  Ma  wouldn't  let  me  do  it.  Bill  had 
something  on  his  mind.  It  was  easy  to  tell  that. 
He  looked  excited,  and  every  time  I  turned  around 
he  went  through  with  all  sorts  of  motions  with 
his  mouth,  trying  to  make  me  understand  what  he 
wanted  to  say. 

It  bothered  me.  Every  time  the  minister  twisted 
up  his  face,  trying  to  make  us  understand  how  im- 
portant it  was  what  he  was  saying,  I'd  think  of 
Bill's  mouth  going  back  of  me.     I  couldn't  help  it. 

When  at  last  we  went  into  Sunday  school  he 
told  me. 


Tracking  the  Robbers  45 

"  Great  snakes,  Pedro !  "  said  he,  grabbing  me  by 
one  arm.     "Haven't  you  heard  about  it?" 

"  How  can  I  tell  whether  I  have  or  not,  when  I 
don't  know  what  it  is  ?  "  I  told  him. 

"  They  robbed  Green's  store  last  night;  stole  him 
blind." 

"Who  did?" 

"  The  guys  that  we  saw  yesterday.  Our  rob- 
bers." 

When  Bill  told  me  that  you  could  have  knocked 
me  down  with  a  feather.  It  made  me  almost  as 
excited  as  he  was.  He  didn't  have  time  to  say  any 
more  because  teacher  made  him  sit  at  the  end  of 
the  line  away  from  me  so  that  he  wouldn't  whisper 
so  much. 

But  after  Sunday  school  was  over  he  told  me 
all  about  it.  Burglars  had  broken  into  Green's 
store  during  the  night.  They  blew  open  the  safe 
and  took  all  the  money,  nearly  one  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  they  carried  off  a  lot  of  knives  and  re- 
volvers. There  is  an  alley  back  of  the  store.  They 
broke  into  the  basement  from  there  and  then  made 
their  way  upstairs. 


46  Tracking  the  Robbers 

"  How  do  you  know  that  it  was  our  robbers 
who  did  it?"  I  asked. 

Bill  drew  himself  up  and  swelled  out  his  chest, 
just  like  Skinny  does  sometimes. 

"I'm  a  Boy  Scout,  ain't  I?"  he  said.  "A  cor- 
poral, too." 

"  You  are  only  a  Tenderfoot,"  I  told  him. 

That  was  true.  You  have  to  be  a  Tenderfoot 
before  you  can  get  to  be  a  real  Scout. 

"  It's  the  same  thing,"  he  said,  winking  one  eye. 
"  One  of  the  robbers  has  a  tender  foot,  any- 
how." 

"  Look  here.  Bill,"  I  told  him.  "  You  are  get- 
ting to  be  worse  than  Skinny,  What  are  you  talk- 
ing about  ? " 

"  Pedro,"  he  said,  "  you'll  never  make  a  Scout. 
You're  a  good  bandit  and  a  good  secretary,  but 
this  Scout  business  is  too  much  for  you.  I  saw 
their  tracks;  that's  what." 

"In  the  alley?" 

He  nodded.     "  Come  on  and  I'll  show  you." 

We  hurried  down  to  Center  Street  and  turned 
into  the  alley  back  of  the  stores.     The  ground  in 


Tracking  the  Robbers  47 

the  alley  was  hard  and  didn't  show  any  tracks  ex- 
cept wagon  ruts. 

Bill  looked  up  and  down  the  alley  to  make  sure 
that  nobody  was  watching;  then  tiptoed  over  to  one 
side,  and  lifted  up  a  big  piece  of  wrapping  paper, 
which  lay  there  as  if  it  had  been  blown  out  of  the 
store.  Under  the  paper  there  was  the  same  kind  of 
footprint  which  we  had  followed  from  Plunkett's 
woods  the  day  before. 

There  was  no  doubt  about  it.  The  man  with  a 
bandaged  foot  must  have  been  in  the  alley  back  of 
the  store  which  had  been  robbed. 

Bill  was  the  proudest  fellow  you  ever  saw  over 
that  footprint.  When  I  had  finished  looking  at  it 
he  put  the  paper  back  again  and  we  went  out  into 
the  street. 

"What  do  you  think  of  that?"  said  he.  "I 
guess  Skinny  ain't  the  whole  thing — on  Sundays." 

"Does  the  marshal  know?" 

"  I  haven't  told  a  soul  except  you,  Pedro.  I 
am  saving  it  for  the  Band — I  mean  the  patrol. 
This  is  our  chance.  What's  the  good  of  bein'  a 
Scout  if  you  don't  do  any  scoutin'  ?  " 


48  Tracking  the  Robbers 

"  Anyhow,  I  think  we  ought  to  tell  the  marshal 
about  this,"  I  said.  "  Those  robbers  are  not  going 
to  wait  for  the  Scouts  to  get  busy.  They  prob- 
ably jumped  a  freight  last  night  and  are  in  New 
York  by  this  time.  But  maybe  the  marshal  could 
do  something." 

Bill  was  bound  to  tell  the  other  Scouts  about 
it  first.  So  after  dinner  we  got  the  boys  together 
and  all  went  over  and  took  a  look  at  the  footprint. 

Skinny  was  even  more  excited  than  Bill  was. 

"  We  are  hot  on  the  trail,  fellers,"  said  he. 
"  The  thing  to  do  is  to  surround  them.  We  ought 
to  have  captured  them  yesterday.  Bet  your  life 
we'll  take  a  rope  next  time." 

But  when  Pa  found  us  talking  it  over  on  our 
woodpile,  and  we  told  him  about  it,  he  said  for 
us  to  go  to  the  marshal's  at  once,  and  if  we  didn't 
he  would. 

It  being  Sunday,  we  went  to  the  marshal's  house 
and  found  him  sitting  on  the  front  porch  dressed 
in  his  best  clothes.  He  was  some  surprised  when 
he  saw  the  eight  of  us  walk  into  his  yard.  It  made 
us  wish  that  we  had  uniforms  on. 


Tracking  the  Robbers  49 

"To  what  do  I  owe  the  honor  of  this  visit?" 
said  he.  "  Is  this  a  committee  of  distinguished 
citizens  to  ask  me  to  run  for  mayor  or  some- 
thing?" 

Bill  was  bursting  with  the  news,  but  Skinny  was 
the  first  to  speak. 

"  We  want  you  to  run  for  those  burglars,"  he 
said,  "  and  we  can  tell  you  who  they  are." 

When  he  heard  that  the  marshal  began  to  get 
interested. 

"Well,  who  were  they?  Maybe,"  he  went  on, 
smiling  at  us,  "  you  youngsters  have  come  to  give 
yourselves  up." 

"  We  didn't  do  it,"  put  in  Bill.  "  We  wouldn't 
do  such  a  thing,  but  we  know  who  did.  We  don't 
know  his  name,  but  we  know  his  track.  We  could 
have  caught  him  yesterday  if  we'd  wanted  to.  I 
wish  we  had  now." 

Then  we  told  him  about  losing  our  dinners  and 
following  the  robbers  through  Plunkett's  woods, 
and  about  the  queer  looking  track  made  by  the 
bandaged  foot. 

"  I'd  know  that  footprint  in  China,"  said  Bill, 


50  Tracking  the  Robbers 

"  and  I  found  one  just  like  it  in  the  alley  back  of 
Green's  store.  The  man  with  the  lame  foot  made 
it.     I  'most  know  he  did." 

"  Say,  William,  you  are  a  regular  sleuth,"  said 
the  marshal.  "  I  have  a  notion  to  put  you  on  the 
force." 

But  he  didn't  guy  us  any  more  after  that.  He 
put  on  his  coat  and  walked  downtown  with  us. 

After  he  had  looked  at  the  footprint  he  covered 
it  up  again  so  that  nobody  would  step  on  it. 

"That's  the  one  all  right,"  Hank  told  him. 
"  There  were  two  of  them.  I  heard  them  say 
something  about  robbing,  when  I  was  taking  their 
pictures." 

"  Taking  their  pictures !  They  don't  go  around 
breaking  into  stores  with  an  official  photographer 
along,  do  they  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  what  they  go  around  with,"  Hank 
said,  "  but  I  crept  up  close  behind  them  and  lay 
back  of  a  bush  where  I  could  hear  them  talking, 
although  I  couldn't  understand  much  of  what  they 
said.  I  thought  it  would  be  fun  to  take  their  pic- 
tures when  they  didn't  know  anything  about  it." 


Tracking  the  Robbers  51 

"  They  stood  up  when  Hank  threw  a  stone  and 
looked  right  at  the  camera,  only  they  didn't  know 
it  was  there,"  Benny  explained. 

"  Great  Scott,  boy !  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that 
you  took  a  photograph  of  the  rascals?  " 

"  I  snapped  them  all  right,"  Hank  told  him,  "  but 
I  won't  know  whether  I  got  a  good  picture  or  not 
until  I  develop  the  roll.     I  haven't  done  it  yet." 

"  Well,  you  develop  it  right  away,  or,  better  still, 
get  your  camera  and  we'll  have  Marsh,  the  pho- 
tographer, do  it  and  make  sure  of  things.  He'll 
do  it,  if  it  is  Sunday." 

Hank  hung  back.  "Can't  you  wait  a  while?" 
he  asked.  "  I've  got  five  shots  left  in  the  camera 
and  don't  want  to  waste  them.     They  cost  money." 

The  marshal  looked  disgusted.  "  Waste  them ! 
How  much  did  they  cost?  " 

"  Twenty-five  cents  a  roll;  six  in  a  roll." 

The  marshal  pulled  a  quarter  out  of  his  pocket 
and  handed  it  to  him. 

"  You'll  be  a  rich  man  some  day,"  said  he. 
"  Now  that  roll  of  films  belongs  to  me  and  that 
picture  is  going  to  be  developed  before  you  are  an 


^2  Tracking  the  Robbers 

hour  older.  Can  you  do  the  job  or  shall  I  look 
up  Marsh  ?  " 

"  I  can  do  it  all  right,  if  there  is  any  picture 
to  develop." 

"  Very  well,  go  ahead  with  it  and  bring  it  down 
to  my  office  just  as  soon  as  you  can.  And  I'll  tell 
you  further,  young  fellow,  if  we  catch  those  bur- 
glars through  your  help,  you'll  get  part  of  the  re- 
ward." 

Hank  looked  at  us  a  moment  with  his  eyes 
shining.     Then  he  drew  himself  up. 

"  I'm  a  Scout,"  said  he,  "  and  Scouts  are  not 
looking  for  rewards.  '  A  Scout's  duty  is  to  be 
useful  and  to  help  others.'     The  book  says  so." 

It  made  us  all  feel  proud  to  have  Hank  say 
that.     The  marshal   gave  a   surprised  whistle. 

"  If  that  is  the  case,"  said  he,  laughing,  "  give 
me  back  my  quarter." 

But  Hank  wouldn't  do  that,  although  Skinny 
nudged  him.  I  don't  suppose  you  can  learn  to  be 
a  Scout  all  at  once. 


CHAPTER  IV 


DANGER — COME 


IT  was  anxious  work,  standing  around  while 
Hank  ran  the  film  from  his  camera  through 
some  kind  of  machine  which  he  had,  to  bring  out 
the  picture.  After  what  seemed  like  a  long  time 
he  took  it  out  and  looked  through  it  toward  the 
light. 

"Hurrah!"  he  yelled.  ''We've  got  'em." 
We  all  crowded  around  to  look,  and  sure  enough 
at  one  end  of  the  film  we  could  see  as  plain  as  day 
two  men  standing  up  and  looking  toward  us.  And 
there  was  the  brook,  too,  and  the  ravine,  so  real 
that  we  almost  could  hear  the  water  pouring  over 
the  stones,  which  we  think  is  the  sweetest  music 
in  the  whole  world.  Away  back  in  the  picture  was 
the  bush,  behind  which  we  boys  were  hiding  when 
Hank  took  it.  Only  you  couldn't  see  us  at  all, 
for  we  had  been  careful  to  keep  out  of  sight. 

53 


54  "  Danger — Come  " 

It  is  wonderful,  isn't  it?  I  don't  know  how  it 
is  done  and  I  don't  believe  that, anybody  else  knows, 
but  I  know  that  it  is  so  because  I  saw  it  with  my 
own  eyes. 

Hank  washed  the  film,  and  after  it  was  dry  put 
it  in  a  frame  with  some  paper  which  he  had,  and 
held  it  up  to  the  gas  jet.  In  a  few  seconds  the 
picture  showed  up  on  the  paper  fine,  just  like  our 
writing  does  when  we  do  it  in  invisible  ink  and 
hold  it  up  to  a  blaze. 

We  could  tell  who  it  was,  all  right.  The  big 
one  had  a  scowl  on  his  face,  as  if  he  had  put  it 
there  when  Hank  tossed  the  stone  and  hadn't  had 
time  to  smooth  it  out  again. 

"  This  picture  is  for  the  marshal,"  Hank  told  us. 
"  Now  I'll  print  another  for  the  patrol.  We'll  let 
them  soak  and  wash  a  while,  and  then  dry  them 
out.  It'll  take  quite  a  long  time,  but  we've  got  'em 
all  right." 

When  we  finally  went  down  to  the  marshal's  it 
was  evening.  He  was  tickled  when  he  saw  the 
picture.  It  made  Skinny  feel  real  chesty  and  we 
all  of  us  were  proud. 


"  Danger — Come  "  55 

**  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Michael,"  said  he,  "  the  Band's 
the  stuff.  I  mean  the  patrol  is.  They  don't  get 
away  from  us  very  often.  I  only  wish  we'd  had  a 
rope  with  us  that  time." 

"  You  boys  certainly  did  the  trick,"  said  the 
marshal,  examining  the  picture.  "  I  don't  know 
those  men  myself,  but  I  know  where  they  will 
know  them,  and  that  is  the  next  best  thing. 
That  is,  if  they  are  old  crooks,  as  I  suspect  they 
are." 

"  Where's  that  ?  "  asked  Skinny. 

"  At  police  headquarters  in  New  York.  They 
have  a  rogues'  gallery  there  that  would  surprise 
you.  It  contains  the  pictures  and  records  of  nearly 
every  crook  in  the  country.  If  these  men  are 
among  them  they'll  pretty  near  know  where  to  put 
their  hands  on  them.  I'll  mail  this  down  to-night. 
I've  telegraphed  already.  Come  around  to-morrow 
and  I'll  tell  you  if  I  hear  anything." 

He  met  us  with  a  broad  grin  the  next  aftemooik 
and  showed  us  a  telegram.  This  is  what  it  said, 
for  I  put  it  down.  Skinny  thought  it  ought  to  be 
in  the  minutes  of  the  meeting. 


56  "Danger— Come  " 

"  Men  well-known  crooks.  Are  under  arrest. 
Got  the  goods  and  most  of  the  money." 

"  More  than  ten  words  are  in  that  telegram," 
said  Hank,  counting  them. 

"  There  you  go  again,"  laughed  the  marshal. 
*'  I'll  have  to  call  the  New  York  chief  down  for 
being  so  careless.  Anyhow,  your  robbers  will  go 
to  the  penitentiary  as  sure  as  preaching." 

"  I  don't  know  about  it,"  Benny  told  us  after- 
ward, when  we  were  talking  It  over.  "  I'm  'most 
sorry  that  we  did  it.  I  shall  always  be  thinking 
that  if  it  hadn't  been  for  us  those  men  wouldn't 
be  locked  up  away  from  birds  and  grass  and  trees. 
Maybe  they  didn't  have  such  good  folks  as  we've 
got.  You  know  that  guy  out  in  Illinois  didn't 
have." 

But  after  we  saw  Pa  we  felt  better  about  it. 

"  I'm  glad  you  feel  that  way,"  said  he.  "  Still 
you  did  the  right  thing  after  you  found  out  about 
the  robbery.  I  wouldn't  advise  you,  however,  to 
go  around  taking  photographs  of  burglars.  You 
snight  get  into  trouble  another  time.     It  surely  is 


"  Danger — Come  "  57 

an  awful  thing  to  be  in  state's  prison,  but  being 
away  from  the  trees  and  grass  is  not  the  worst  thing 
about  it.  The  worst  thing  is  being  so  bad  that 
you  have  to  be  locked  up  in  order  to  make  other 
people  safe.  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  a  criminal, 
whether  you  are  in  prison  or  not." 

He  was  quiet  for  a  minute;  then  went  on: 

"  I  can't  think  of  a  worse  prison  for  a  human 
soul  than  a  human  body  that  does  mean  things, 
lies  and  steals  or  is  vile  in  any  way." 

A  few  days  later  when  Skinny  and  I  went  to  the 
post-office  together  the  postmaster  handed  him  a 
letter. 

"  I  say,"  said  he,  "  you  have  been  promoted, 
haven't  you?  " 

On  the  envelope  was  written,  "  Captain  Gabriel 
Miller,  Patrol  Leader,  Raven  Patrol,  Boy  Scouts 
of  America." 

It  made  us  both  excited. 

"  It's  for  the  whole  patrol,"  said  Skinny,  trying 
to  look  through  it.  "  I  don't  think  I  ought  to 
open  it  until  we  are  all  together,  and  I  hardly  can 
wait." 


'58  "  Danger— Come  " 

He  rushed  to  the  door  as  he  spoke  and  whistled 
through  his  teeth,  for  he  saw  Bill  and  Hank  passing 
on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  going  to  my  house. 

"  I  could  have  cawed,"  he  explained  when  they 
had  come  across,  "  but  I  didn't  think  that  I  ought 
to  when  folks  were  looking." 

We  went  over  to  Benny's  and  found  him  piling 
wood  and  glad  enough  to  quit. 

"  Never  mind  about  the  other  boys,"  I  told  them. 
"  They  will  be  along  pretty  soon.  Whatever  it  is, 
we'll  want  to  read  it  twice,  anyhow." 

Skinny  opened  the  letter  and  looked  at  the 
writing. 

"  Jee-rusalem,  fellers !  "  he  shouted.  Then  he 
commenced  to  caw  like  some  crow  that  was  crazy" 
with  the  heat. 

Bill  cawed,  too,  but  he  didn't  know  what  for. 
Then  he  tried  to  snatch  the  letter  out  of  Skinny's 
hand. 

"  Aw,  cut  it  out,  can't  you  ? "  said  he,  when 
Skinny  dodged  out  of  the  way.     "  Read  it." 

"  I  am  readin'  it,"  said  Skinny.     "  It's  great." 

"  Well,  read  it  out  loud." 


"  Danger — Come  "  59 

Then  Skinny  started  to  read,  and  this  is  what  the 
letter  said,  only  it  doesn't  tell  how  Skinny's  eyes 
shone,  nor  how  he  stopped  every  few  lines  to  punch 
the  enemy. 

""  To  the  Boy  Scouts  of  Bob's  Hill: 

"  I  want  to  thank  every  boy  in  Raven  Patrol, 
and  especially  Henry  Bates,  for  the  recovery  of 
my  property.  But  for  you  I  should  never  have 
seen  it  again  and  the  burglars  would  still  be  at 
large.  I  offered  a  reward  for  the  capture  of  the 
thieves  and  it  rightfully  belongs  to  you,  but  the 
marshal  has  told  me  that,  being  Boy  Scouts,  you 
do  not  want  to  be  rewarded  for  good  deeds.  What 
I  wish  to  say  is  this :  I  like  the  Boy  Scout  idea  and 
want  to  help  it  along.  Not  as  a  reward  but  just 
because  I  like  boys,  will  you  let  me  buy  uniforms 
for  your  patrol  ? 

"Sincerely  your  friend, 

"  Robert  Green." 

That  is  how  we  happen  to  have  such  fine  uni- 
forms that  make  folks  turn  around  and  look  every 
time  we  pass. 


6o  "  Danger — Come  *' 

On  the  day  we  first  wore  the  uniforms  we  were 
made  real  Scouts;  not  First  class  ones  but  Second 
class.  You  see,  there  are  three  kinds.  First  you 
have  to  be  a  Tenderfoot.  That  doesn't  mean  that 
your  feet  are  tender,  but  that  you  are  new  to  the 
business.  To  get  to  be  a  Second  Class  Scout,  you 
have  to  do  all  kinds  of  stunts  and  you  have  to  be 
a  Tenderfoot  at  least  a  month. 

We  knew  how  to  build  fires  and  cook  things  out 
in  the  woods  and  things  like  that,  which  Scouts 
have  to  do,  and  the  way  we  tracked  the  burglars 
showed  that  we  knew  something  about  that. 

The  hardest  things  we  had  to  do  were  to  learn 
the  Morse  alphabet  of  dots  and  dashes  for  signal- 
ing and  to  learn  what  to  do  when  folks  get  hurt, 
how  to  put  on  bandages  and  things  like  that  and 
how  to  bring  folks  back  to  life  when  they  are  nearly 
drowned.  We  learned  them  all  right,  and  it  is  a 
good  thing  we  did. 

Signaling  was  the  most  fun  of  all.  We  could 
do  it  with  flags  like  they  do  in  the  army;  by  waving 
our  arms  like  a  semaphore,  and  by  smoke  from 
fires  like  the  Indians  do.     We  also  could  spell  out 


"  Danger— Come  "  6i 

things  with  smoke  in  the  Morse  alphabet,  which 
was  something  the  Indians  couldn't  do,  by  making 
the  smoke  go  up  in  puffs  like  dots  and  dashes. 

Part  of  us  would  go  up  on  Bob's  Hill  and  part 
on  the  hill  opposite,  beyond  the  Basin  where  we  go 
swimming,  build  fires,  and  signal  to  each  other.  It 
was  hard  at  first,  but  after  a  while  we  could  spell 
out  'most  anything  and  understand  some  of  it. 

It  came  in  handy,  too,  because  one  afternoon, 
after  we  had  been  playing  in  our  yard,  we  decided 
to  practise  our  signaling.  Just  after  all  the  boys 
had  started  for  the  east  hill,  except  Skinny  and  me, 
who  were  going  up  on  Bob's  Hill,  Ma  came  out 
and  wanted  to  know  where  the  other  boys  were. 

"  It  is  too  bad  that  they  have  gone,"  said  she. 
"  I  was  going  to  ask  them  to  stay  to  supper." 

"  Maybe  they'll  come  back,"  said  Skinny,  wink- 
ing at  me. 

"  We  are  not  going  to  have  much,  but  I  thought 
you  boys  would  enjoy  eating  together  and  we 
should  like  it,  too.  We  do  not  often  have  the 
honor  of  sitting  down  to  the  table  with  young 
gentlemen  who  have  uniforms  on." 


62'  "  Danger — Come  " 

"  We'll  stay,"  said  Skinny,  "  if  you  will  let  us 
do  something  to  help.  According  to  Scout  law,  a 
Scout  must  try  his  best  to  do  somebody  a  good 
turn  every  day.  I  haven't  done  it  now  for  'most 
two  days." 

"If  that  is  the  case,"  Ma  told  him,  "  my  woodbox 
seems  to  be  getting  empty." 

That  is  the  greatest  woodbox  I  ever  saw  for 
getting  empty.  We  filled  it  so  full  that  the  wood 
fell  off  all  over  the  floor;  then  started  for  the  hill. 

"  Now  is  our  chance,"  said  Skinny.  "  We've 
just  got  to  make  them  understand  this  time.  We 
never  have  had  anything  much  to  tell  the  boys 
before,  but  this  is  important." 

We  climbed  to  the  very  top  of  Bob's  Hill  and 
soon  had  a  fire  going.  When  it  was  well  started 
we  threw  on  some  green  stuff  that  made  a  big 
smoke.  Pretty  soon  we  saw  smoke  going  up  across 
the  valley  and  knew  that  the  other  boys  were  ready. 

"  They  are  there,"  I  said.  "  Now  we'll  tell 
them." 

"  Wait,"  said  Skinny.  "  First  let's  give  the 
danger  signal.     That'll  fetch  'em." 


"  Danger — Come  "  63 

"  But  there  ain't  any  danger,"  I  told  him. 
**  What's   the   use   of   lying,    even    with   smoke?" 

"  You  bet  there's  danger,"  said  he.  "  There's 
danger  of  losing  your  mother's  supper,  ain't 
there?" 

So  I  gave  him  one  end  of  a  wet  blanket  which 
I  was  carrying,  and  I  grabbed  hold  of  the  other 
end.  We  covered  the  fire  Vvith  it,  stopping  all  of 
the  smoke;  then  took  it  off  and  let  a  big  puff  go 
up;  then  covered  it  again  and  sent  up  a  little  puff, 
and  kept  doing  that  until  I  was  sure  the  boys  would 
be  most  crazy,  for  that  sign  means  danger. 

After  we  had  done  it  a  while,  we  spelled  out  the 
word  "  come."  We  did  that  by  using  the  blanket 
to  make  a  short  puff  of  smoke  for  a  dot  and  a  long 
puff  for  a  dash,  like  this: 

..  .  C     ..   O    —  M     .   E 

We  waited  and  spelled  it  out  twice  more  to  make 
sure,  and  then  went  down  the  hill  to  the  house. 

"Shall  I  set  the  table  for  the  others?"  Ma 
asked,  when  she  saw  us  coming. 


64  "  Danger — Come  " 

"  They  will  be  here  in  a  few  minutes,"  said 
Skinny,  looking  at  his  watch. 

We  were  not  sure  of  it,  but  we  hoped  they  would 
and,  as  Skinny  said,  it  wouldn't  do  any  hurt  to  get 
the  table  ready. 

We  were  beginning  to  be  afraid  that  they  had 
not  understood  and  were  not  coming,  when  we 
heard  a  faint  cawing,  a  long  way  off  somewhere. 
It  seemed  from  beyond  Summer  Street. 

Skinny  answered,  while  I  ran  into  the  house  to 
tell  the  folks  that  it  was  all  right.  Then  we  went 
out  in  front  and  waited. 

The  first  we  saw  of  them  was  when  Bill  Wilson 
turned  into  Park  Street  in  a  cloud  of  dust  and 
came  tearing  up  the  middle  of  the  road  on  a  jump. 
The  other  boys  were  close  behind,  running  to  beat 
the  band,  and  every  mother's  son  of  them  was 
carrying  a  big  club. 

They  didn't  even  yell  when  they  saw  us,  they 
were  so  nearly  winded,  but  Bill,  being  corporal, 
ran  up  to  Skinny,  gave  the  Scout  salute,  and  then 
whirled  his  club  around  his  head  three  times. 

It  was  great  to  see  them  come  up  that  way,  every 


''  Danger— Come  "  65 

Scout  whirling  his  club  and  all  out  of  breath. 
Skinny's  eyes  shone  like  stars,  he  was  so  proud,  and 
I  saw  Ma  looking  out  of  a  window,  surprised  some, 
I  guess. 

"  Show  'em  to  us !  "  yelled  Bill,  as  soon  as  he 
could  speak.     "  We'll  eat  'em  up." 

"  You'll  get  all  the  eating  you  want  in  about 
five  minutes,"  Skinny  told  him. 

"Where  are  they?"  yelled  Bill  again,  while  the 
other  boys  marched  up  and  stood  in  a  row,  each 
with  his  club  in  the  air. 

"  You  are  crazy,"  said  Skinny.  "  Where's 
who?" 

"  The  Gingham  Ground  Gang.  Didn't  you  tell 
us  the  Gang  was  after  you  and  for  us  to  come 
quick?" 

"  Not  much.  I  said  supper  was  ready  and  that 
if  you  didn't  get  a  move  on  yourselves  you  would 
lose  out." 

"  Ain't  there  going  to  be  a  fight?  " 

Just  then  Ma  came  out  and  it  was  a  good  thing 
she  did,  because  there  might  have  been  a  fight,  after 
all. 


66  *'  Danger — Come  " 

"  Boys,"  said  she,  smiling  at  us,  "  you  are  all 
invited  to  stay  to  supper,  and  you  will  just  about 
have  time  to  wash  up  and  cool  off  a  little.  We 
are  having  supper  early  to-night.  I  was  so  dis- 
appointed when  I  found  out  that  you  had  gone  that 
your  patrol  leader,  Captain  Miller,  told  me  that  he 
would  signal  to  you  and  that  Corporal  Wilson 
would  get  you  here  on  time  if  he  had  to  run  his 
legs  off.  I  don't  exactly  see  how  he  did  it  but 
you  are  here,  that  is  certain.  I've  let  your  folks 
know,  so  you  can  stay  just  as  well  as  not,  unless 
you  don't  like  my  cooking." 

When  she  said  that  the  boys  set  up  a  shout,  for 
they  knew  all  about  Ma's  cooking. 

"  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  how  you  do  it,"  she 
added,  turning  back  as  she  was  going  into  the  house. 
"If  your  secretary  would  come  like  that  when  I 
call  him,  I  should  be  the  proudest  woman  in  the 
village." 


CHAPTER  V 

A   CAMPFIRE   ON   BOB'S    HILL 

"TEE-RUSALEM,   fellers,"  said  Skinny  a  few 

J  days  later,  "  we're  going  to  have  a  campfire 
to-night  on  Bob's  Hill.  Mr.  Norton,  the  Scout- 
master, is  going  to  be  there,  and  he  says  for  us 
not  to  eat  too  much  supper  because  there  will  be 
something  doing  along  about  eight  o'clock.  It  will 
beat  the  Fourth  of  July." 

We  hardly  could  wait  for  evening  to  come.  The 
folks  thought  that  I  must  be  sick  because  I  didn't 
want  much  supper,  until  I  told  them  about  the 
campfire. 

"  You'd  better  eat  a  bowl  of  bread  and  milk, 
anyhow,"  said  Ma.  "  If  I  know  anything  about 
boys,  and  I  have  seen  a  few  in  my  day,  you  will 
be  ready  for  another  meal  by  eight  o'clock." 

I  don't  know  how  it  is,  but  things  always  seem 

to  happen  just  as  Ma  says  they  will.     Long  before 

67 


68  A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill 

eight  o'clock  came  we  were  waiting  for  Mr.  Nor- 
ton at  our  house,  as  hungry  as  bears. 

After  a  while  he  came  along,  lugging  a  big 
basket  and  wearing  a  smile  that  would  have  made 
us  warm  to  him  if  we  never  had  before. 

"  Captain,"  said  he  to  Skinny,  "  if  you  will  de- 
tail two  of  your  men  to  bring  some  water,  we'll 
get  started.  Of  course,  if  we  were  going  to  make 
a  regular  camp  we  should  see  that  there  was  water 
near.  We'll  have  to  carry  it  this  time,  but  it  isn't 
far  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  One  of  you  might  help 
me  with  this  basket;  there  seems  to  be  something 
in  it." 

Fifteen  minutes  later  we  were  all  at  the  top  of 
the  hill  and  had  brought  some  sticks  from  Plun- 
kett's  woods  for  a  fire  and  a  curl  of  birch  bark  to 
kindle  it  with. 

"  I  understand  that  you  boys  came  near  burning 
up  the  woods  and  village  once  with  a  fire  up  here," 
said  Mr.  Norton.  "  We  must  be  careful  about 
that.  Fire  is  a  good  servant  but  a  very  hard  mas- 
ter. We  do  not  need  a  big  blaze  for  a  campfire, 
so  hot  that  we  cannot  sit  around  it.     All  we  need 


A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill  69 

is  just  enough  to  look  cheerful,  to  heat  our  coffee, 
and  furnish  enough  hot  coals  for  cooking  this 
beefsteak." 

He  was  unpacking  the  basket  while  he  talked, 
and  Skinny  was  lighting  the  fire. 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  can  tell  you  anything  about 
making  fires  and  cooking.  You  boys  just  about 
live  out  of  doors  in  summer,  so  far  as  I  have 
observed.  You  are  in  great  luck  to  have  your 
homes  in  a  small  village.  If  you  should  play  some 
of  your  pranks  in  a  city,  I  am  afraid  that  you 
might  become  unpopular  and  the  police  might  get 
after  you.  Boys  in  great  cities,  like  Chicago  or 
New  York,  know  little  of  the  freedom  and  sweet- 
ness of  country  life." 

He  went  over  to  a  little  clump  of  trees  and 
came  back  with  a  small  branch,  from  which  he 
stripped  the  leaves  and  twigs.  When  he  had  fin- 
ished he  had  what  he  called  a  "  pot  hanger "  of 
green  wood,  about  four  feet  long  and  with  a  kind 
of  crotch  at  the  smaller  end.  He  put  the  big  end 
under  a  stone,  the  right  distance  from  the  fire,  and 
drove  a  short,  crotched  stick  into  the  ground  to 


JO  A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill 

hold  the  pot  hanger  over  the  blaze  at  the  right 
angle.  When  that  was  done  all  we  had  to  do  was 
to  hang  a  pail  of  water  on  the  end  of  the  pot 
hanger  and  wait  for  the  water  to  boil. 

"  I  thought  that  we  wouldn't  bother  with  potatoes 
this  time,"  said  he,  "  although  they  make  good 
eating  when  baked  in  hot  ashes,  as  you  boys  prob- 
ably know.  Mrs.  Norton  put  in  a  whole  stack  of 
bread  and  butter  sandwiches  and  some  other  things, 
which  we  must  get  rid  of  somehow,  and  Mrs.  Smith 
gave  me  this  bag  as  we  were  leaving  the  house. 
I  don't  know  what  is  in  it,  and  she  told  me  not 
to  open  it  until  the  feast  was  ready." 

We  all  kept  our  eyes  on  the  bag  and  wondered 
what  was  in  it.  I  thought  that  I  could  make  a 
good  guess,  being  better  acquainted  with  Ma  than 
the  other  boys  were,  but  I  couldn't  be  sure. 

By  the  time  the  water  was  boiling  the  fire  had 
burned  down  to  red-hot  coals.  Mr.  Norton  poured 
the  water  over  the  coffee  and  set  the  pot  in  a  hot 
place.  Then  he  began  to  get  busy  with  the  meat, 
using  a  broiler  which  he  had  brought  in  the  basket. 
The  delicious  smell  of  the  beefsteak  and  the  coffee 


A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill  71 

almost  drove  us  crazy,  and  we  began  to  be  afraid 
that  it  would  bring  the  whole  village  up  the  hill 
to  us. 

It  seems  as  if  every  meal  that  we  eat  out  of 
doors  that  way  is  better  than  any  which  we  ever 
have  had  before.  It  grew  dark  before  we  had 
finished  Ma's  doughnuts,  which  we  found  on  open- 
ing the  bag.  As  we  sat  there  we  could  see  lights 
begin  to  glow  all  up  and  down  the  valley  and  back 
of  us  from  an  occasional  farmhouse,  up  toward 
Greylock.  Stars  came  out  overhead,  and  after  a 
little  we  saw  a  light  in  the  sky  above  the  East 
mountain  and  knew  that  in  a  few  minutes  the  moon 
would  come  up. 

After  we  had  eaten  all  that  we  wanted,  we 
threw  some  wood  on  the  coals  to  make  a  little  blaze, 
and  then  lay  around  and  talked. 

Finally  Benny  said,  "  I  wish  you  would  tell  us 
a  story,  Mr.  Norton,  like  Mr.  Baxter  did  out  in 
Illinois  last  summer." 

"  I  am  going  to  tell  you  a  whole  lot  of  stories 
before  we  get  through  with  our  meetings,"  he  re- 
plied, **  but  let  us  discuss  this  Scout  business  a  little 


72  A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill 

more  first.  When  you  took  the  Scout's  oath  and 
were  enrolled  in  the  Tenderfoot  class,  you  pledged 
your  word  of  honor  that  you  would  do  your  duty 
to  God  and  your  country,  that  you  would  help 
other  people  at  all  times,  and  that  you  would  obey 
the  Scout  law.  That  Scout  law  is  important.  Sup- 
pose we  talk  it  over.  Gabriel,  you  are  leader,  can 
you  tell  us  what  the  first  law  is?  " 

Skinny  stood  up  and  folded  his  arms. 

"  A  Scout  is  trustworthy,"  said  he. 

"It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  trustworthy;  to  be 
dependable,"  said  Mr,  Norton.  "  In  a  few  years, 
you  boys  and  others  like  you  will  be  running  this 
country  and  the  other  countries  which  make  up  what 
we  call  the  civilized  world.  To  you  doubtless  that 
time  seems  far  off.  Let  me  tell  you  that  it  will  be 
here  almost  before  you  know  it.  It  seems  only 
yesterday  when  I  myself  was  a  youngster  like  you." 
>  "  I'm  going  on  twelve,"  Benny  told  him,  "  and 
I  have  begun  to  grow  again." 

"  The  Band  is  dependable  all  right,"  said  Skinny, 
stabbing  around  in  the  air  with  his  fork.  "  I  mean 
the  patrol  is.     Bet  your  life,  when  they  monkey 


A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill  73 

with  the  Band  they  run  up  against  a  buzz 
saw." 

Bill  didn't  say  a  word,  but  he  cawed  three  times; 
then  flapped  his  arms  and  crowed,  and  ended  by 
standing  on  his  hands  and  kicking  his  feet  in  the 
air.  Bill  didn't  have  to  talk.  He  could  do  things 
that  made  us  know  what  he  meant,  without  saying 
a  word. 

"  To  be  dependable,"  went  on  Mr.  Norton, 
"  means  more  than  to  fight  for  your  rights,  or 
for  your  country's  rights.  It  means  that  In  all 
walks  of  life  you  must  be  ready  to  '  deliver  the 
goods.'  When  a  Scout  gives  his  word  of  honor 
that  settles  it.  That  which  he  says  is  true,  is  true; 
you  can  depend  upon  it,  and  he  will  do  exactly  what 
he  says  he  will  do.  That  is  a  quality  which  we 
greatly  need  in  men  as  well  as  in  boys,  who  soon 
will  be  men." 

"  Corporal,  what  is  the  second  law  ?  " 

Bill  thought  a  minute  and  then  said: 

"A  Scout  is  loyal." 

"  Right  you  are.  You  must  be  loyal  to  your 
country,  to  your  parents,,  to  your  officers,  to  your 


74  A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill 

employers,  when  you  get  to  work.  Loyalty  is  a 
great  thing.  It  means  to  stick  together.  One  boy, 
or  one  man,  alone,  cannot  accomplish  much.  Sev- 
eral working  loyally  together  for  a  single  object, 
are  a  power.  You  and  the  Gingham  Ground  Gang 
used  to  have  considerable  trouble,  didn't  you?" 

"  We  do  now,"  we  told  him,  "  except  with  Jim 
Donavan.  Jim  is  square  and  we'd  like  to  have  him 
join  us,  but  he  won't  leave  the  Gang;  says  it 
wouldn't  be  right." 

"  That  is  the  kind  of  boy  we  want  for  a  Scout. 
He  is  loyal  and  his  honor  is  to  be  trusted.  You 
must  help  me  to  organize  the  Gang,  as  you  call 
them,  into  another  patrol.  But  what  I  was  going 
to  say  is  this :  When  you  and  the  Gang  were  ene- 
mies, which  I  hope  you  never  will  be  again,  what 
would  have  happened  if  one  of  you  had  ventured 
alone  down  near  the  gingham  mills  ?  " 

"  They  would  have  done  him  up." 

"  Exactly.  Now  suppose  the  eight  of  you  had 
stood  together,  back  to  back,  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
working  against  a  common  enemy?  " 

"  We  did  once,"  said  Benny,  and  they  licked  us. 


A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill  75 

anyhow,  but  there  were  more  of  them  than  there 
"wrere  of  us." 

"  Bet  your  life  they  didn't  lick  us  very  bad," 
put  in  Skinny.  "  It  was  a  snowball  fight.  They 
drove  us  from  their  hill,  but  afterward  they  asked 
us  to  come  back  and  slide  with  them,  and  we  did. 
We  had  a  fine  time." 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  in  that  case  both  sides  won 
St  victory.  The  greatest  victory  a  boy  or  man  can 
win  is  one  over  himself,  over  his  own  passions,  his 
selfishness  and  meanness.  The  greatest  enemy 
that  he  or  his  country  can  have  will  be  found  right 
inside  his  own  heart.  There  is  where  we  all  have 
a.  fight  on  hand  continually.  But,  remember,  you 
are  Scouts  and  a  Scout's  honor  is  to  be  trusted." 

"Benny,  what  is  the  next  law?" 

"A  Scout  is  helpful." 

"  There  you  have  it.  The  highest  type  of  man 
is  the  useful  one.  There  was  once  an  old  philoso- 
pher who  said  that  he  counted  that  day  lost  in 
which  he  did  no  good  deed.  A  Scout  ought  to 
feel  the  same  way.  You  must  try  to  do  something 
for  somebody  every  day." 


76  A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill 

*'  They  don't  have  giants  and  dragons,  any  more," 
said  Skinny.  "  I  wish  they  did;  we'd  paralyze 
'em." 

"  Henry,  what  is  the  next  one?  " 

"  I  am  not  quite  sure  whether  it  comes  next  or 
not,  but  I  think  it  does.  The  law  says,  '  A  Scout 
is  a  friend  to  all  and  a  brother  to  every  other 
Scout.'  Does  that  mean  that  we  must  be  brothers 
to  the  Gingham  Ground  Gang  when  they  get  to  be 
Scouts?" 

"  Surely  it  does.  Why  not  ?  Your  folks  may 
have  a  little  more  money  than  their  folks  and  not 
so  much  as  some  one  else.  What  of  it?  There  is 
something  better  than  money,  and  that  something 
is  manhood.     Don't  be  snobs,  whatever  you  are." 

"  Now,  Mr.  Secretary,  it  is  your  turn." 

"  A  Scout  is  courteous,"  I  told  him. 

"  Politeness  is  a  great  thing.  If  he  lives  up  to 
his  pledge,  a  Scout  will  be  courteous,  especially  in 
his  treatment  of  women  and  children  who  are 
younger  than  he  is,  and  of  old  people  and  those 
who  are  feeble  or  handicapped  in  some  way  by 
being  crippled  or  sick.     Don't  forget  that  old  men 


A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill  ']'] 

started  as  boys  and  that  you  boys,  if  you  live,  will 
become  old  men.     Now  for  number  six." 

"  A  Scout  is  kind  and  a  friend  to  animals," 
Harry  said. 

"And  the  next?" 

"  A  Scout  is  obedient,"  said  Chuck. 

"  Now  we  are  getting  down  to  business.  The 
first  duty  of  a  soldier  is  to  obey,  and  it  is  so  im- 
portant that  he  should  obey  in  time  of  war  that  a 
soldier,  or  scout,  who  refused  to  obey  orders  would 
be  shot.  You  are  supposed  to  obey  orders  with- 
out question.  Obey  your  parents  especially.  Obey 
me  as  Scoutmaster.  Obey  your  patrol  leader;  that 
is  your  duty  as  Scouts.  If  the  order  does  not  suit 
you,  do  your  kicking  afterward,  not  before.  First 
deliver  the  goods;  then  you  will  be  in  a  position  to 
criticise,  if  necessary." 

**  We  haven't  heard  from  you,  Wallie.  Let's 
have  number  eight." 

"A  Scout  is  cheerful." 

"  That's  the  idea.  Don't  grumble  or  whine. 
That  will  never  get  you  anywhere,  or  the  world 
anywhere. 


yS  A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill 

"  I  want  to  say  a  few  words  about  the  next 
law,  '  A  Scout  is  thrifty.'  Thrift  is  of  the  greatest 
importance.  Save  your  money.  Save  your  pen- 
nies. Put  them  in  the  bank.  I  think  they  ought 
to  teach  thrift  and  the  importance  of  saving  in 
the  pubHc  schools.  It  does  not  mean  that  you 
should  be  stingy.  When  you  boys  worked  hard 
one  winter  and  gave  a  purse  of  money  to  an  un- 
fortunate stranger,  you  were  living  up  to  the  high- 
est ideals  of  a  Scout.  It  doesn't  mean  that  money 
is  the  most  important  thing  in  the  world,  for  it 
is  far  from  it.  But  remember  this :  a  man's  first 
duty  to  his  country  is  to  be  self-supporting,  and 
to  be  self-supporting  in  his  old  age  he  must  be 
thrifty  in  his  youth.  He  must  make  hay  while 
the  sun  shines.  He  must  learn  to  save  his  money. 
That  is  why  a  Tenderfoot  must  have  one  dollar 
in  the  bank  before  he  can  become  a  Second  Class 
Scout,  and  a  Second  Class  Scout  must  have  two 
dollars  before  he  becomes  a  First  Class  Scout.  The 
habit  of  thrift  is  very  important.  When  you  grow 
older  and  go  to  work,  no  matter  what  you  earn, 
I  want  you  to  save  a  part  of  it. 


A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill  79 

"  There  are  three  more  laws,"  he  went  on,  after 
a  minute,  "  and  they  speak  for  themselves :  '  A 
Scout  is  brave,'  *  A  Scout  is  clean,'  '  A  Scout  is 
reverent.'  I  need  not  tell  you  to  be  brave  in  the 
presence  of  danger.  Do  you  understand  that  some- 
times it  takes  greater  courage  to  stand  up  for  the 
right?  Keep  yourselves  clean;  not  only  your  bodies 
but  your  thought  and  speech.  And  be  reverent, 
boys,  toward  God,  who  made  old  Greylock  and 
these  beautiful  hills  for  you  to  enjoy." 

When  he  had  finished  Skinny  started  to  throw 
some  wood  on  the  fire,  but  Mr.  Norton  stopped 
him. 

*'  Never  go  away,"  he  said,  "  leaving  a  fire  where 
it  possibly  can  do  any  damage.  We'll  be  going 
home  in  a  few  minutes,  and  before  we  go  this  fire 
must  be  put  out.  If  the  wind  should  come  up  in 
the  night  the  flames  might  spread  into  Plunkett's 
woods." 

We  saw  in  a  minute  that  he  was  right,  and,  taking 
sticks,  beat  out  what  little  fire  there  was;  then 
started  down  the  hill. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  I  have  been  thinking,"  said 


8o  A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill 

Mr.  Norton,  when  we  were  going  through  Black- 
inton's  orchard.  "  We  have  had  so  much  fun  to- 
night that  I  should  like  to  go  camping  with  you 
boys  for  a  week,  some  time  this  summer.  These 
mountains  and  woods  are  just  the  places  for  scout- 
ing and  we  could  have  a  campfire  every  night. 
What  do  you  say?" 

"  We  say  yes,"  said  Skinny,  "  if  our  folks  will 
let  us,  and  I  know  they  will." 

"Can  we  play  Indian,  Mr.  Norton?"  asked 
Benny. 

"  We  certainly  can.  I  think  everybody  likes  to 
get  out  into  the  woods  and  be  an  Indian  once  a 
year.  You  boys  have  something  to  do  first,  how- 
ever. I  want  every  one  of  you  to  be  able  to  show 
a  First  Class  Scout  badge." 

"  We  can  do  most  of  the  stunts  now,"  I  told 
him,  "  only  we  haven't  been  seven  miles  and 
back." 

The  book  says  that  before  becoming  a  First  Class 
Scout  a  boy  must  go  on  foot  to  a  point  seven  miles 
away  and  return  again,  and  afterward  to  write  a 
short  account  of  the  trip.     It  says,  too,  that  it 


A  Campfire  on  Bob's  Hill  8i 

would  be  better  to  go  one  day  and  come  back  the 
next,  and  that  means  to  camp  out  all  night. 

That  last  was  a  hard  thing  to  do  because  our 
mothers  did  not  want  us  to  go  off  that  way  alone. 
Mothers  always  seem  to  think  a  boy  is  going  to 
get  hurt  or  something.  Mr.  Norton  finally  talked 
them  into  it,  all  except  Benny's  mother.  She 
wouldn't  stand  for  it.  Benny  cried,  he  felt  so  badly 
about  it. 

"  Do  it  in  one  day,  then,"  Mr.  Norton  told  him. 
"  Remember  that  the  law  says  for  you  to  obey 
your  parents  without  question.  That  is  more  im- 
portant than  to  do  the  stunt." 


CHAPTER  VI 


A  FOURTEEN-MILE  HIKE 


SCHOOL  let  out  Thursday,  June  22,  and  it  had 
seemed  to  us  as  if  the  day  never  would  come. 
Not  that  we  don't  like  school  because  we  do — some- 
times; but  when  the  sap  drips  from  the  maples  and 
bees  buzz  around  the  pussywillows  on  the  river 
bank  and  all  the  trees  take  on  a  different  look,  as 
if  there  was  going  to  be  something  doing  right 
away,  then  the  time  has  come  for  us  to  get  out  our 
marbles  and  tops  and  to  fix  up  the  cave  for  the 
summer. 

Pretty  soon  the  buds  begin  to  throw  off  their 
overcoats,  and  Bob's  Hill  grows  green  again  in  the 
warm  sunshine;  the  woods  are  bright  with  wild 
flowers,  and  the  songs  of  birds  and  smell  of  spring 
fill  the  air. 

Then  the  mountains  and  hills  tease  us  away  from 

our  books,  when  we  look  out  of  the  window.    The 

82 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  83 

river,  all  swelled  up  v/ith  joy  and  melting  snows, 
shouts  for  us  to  come  on,  every  time  we  cross  the 
bridge.  On  Saturdays  the  brook  at  Peck's  Falls, 
grown  big  and  noisy,  roars  out  a  welcome  and  tries 
to  say  how  glad  it  is  to  have  us  back  at  the  cave 
again. 

Say,  how  can  a  boy  sit  quiet  in  school  when 
all  those  things  are  going  on? 

Last  day  finally  came.  It  always  does,  no  mat- 
ter how  slowly  the  time  seems  to  pass.  The  very 
next  morning  the  Ravens  met  to  do  the  final  stunts 
that  would  make  us  First  Class  Scouts. 

For  more  than  a  week  we  had  thought  of  little 
except  the  fourteen-mile  hike.  It  took  several 
meetings  before  we  could  decide  where  to  go.  Our 
first  idea  was  to  tramp  up  into  the  mountains  some- 
where, but  that  scared  our  folks  and  we  had  to 
give  it  up. 

"  It  isn't  as  if  you  were  all  going  together,"  said 
Pa.  "  In  that  case,  if  one  should  get  hurt  the 
others  could  take  care  of  him  and  go  for  help. 
If  one  of  you  alone  should  break  your  leg  on  the 
mountain  we  might  never  be  able  to  find  you.     I 


84  A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike 

think  you'd  better  stick  to  civilization  and  the  beaten 
paths.  You  are  not  mollie-coddles  and  probably 
would  come  out  all  right,  anyhow.  At  the  same 
time,  I  should  sleep  better  nights  if  I  knew  that  my 
boy  wasn't  off  on  the  mountain  somewhere,  alone." 

That  left  us  only  two  directions  to  go,  north  and 
south,  because  on  the  east  and  west  there  are  moun- 
tains and  the  valley  between  is  narrow.  South 
near  Cheshire  Harbor  it  narrows  down  so  much 
that  there  is  room  only  for  a  wagon  road,  the 
river,  and  the  railroad,  side  by  side,  but  there  is 
another  road  part  way  up  the  hill  on  the  east. 

On  that  account  we  decided  that  all  should  not 
go  on  the  hike  the  same  day,  but  to  go  four  at  a 
time,  each  taking  a  different  road.  There  are  two 
roads  leading  north  to  North  Adams,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  river,  and  two  leading  south.  One  goes 
through  Maple  Grove  and  Cheshire  Harbor  to 
Cheshire,  where  a  lot  of  swell  folks  from  New 
York  spend  their  summer  vacations.  The  other, 
as  I  have  said,  is  part  way  up  the  east  hill  and 
goes  through  a  place,  called  Pumpkin  Hook.  It's 
a  queer  name  but  we  didn't  name  it. 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  85 

The  plan  that  we  finally  decided  on  was  for  each 
to  follow  one  road  one  day  for  seven  miles;  then 
go  up  into  the  hills  somewhere  to  make  camp  for 
the  night,  and  the  next  day  to  go  back  again  by 
the  other  road.  In  that  way  we  should  stand  a 
chance  of  meeting  two  Scouts  some  time  during 
the  trip,  one  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day, 
when  we  would  be  crossing  over  to  take  the  other 
road,  and  one  when  the  first  boys  on  their  way 
home  would  pass  the  second  boys  on  the  way  out. 

We  drew  cuts  to  see  who  should  be  the  first  four 
to  go.  Skinny,  Harry,  Wallie,  and  Bill  won  the 
first  chance.  They  w^ere  to  start  the  next  morning 
at  seven  o'clock  sharp  from  the  bridge,  two  going 
north  and  two  south.  Hank,  Benny,  Chuck,  and 
myself  were  to  wait  until  seven  o'clock,  the  second 
day,  and  then  start.  When  we  all  had  come  back, 
we  planned  to  meet  Mr.  Norton  and  tell  him  about 
where  we  had  been  and  what  we  had  seen  and 
done. 

Benny  and  I  live  nearest  to  the  bridge.  My 
house  is  only  a  stone's  throw  north  of  it;  Benny's 
is  a  little  north  of  mine  and  on  the  other  side  of 


86  A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike 

Park  Street.  That  made  it  easy  for  us  to  get  to 
the  bridge  first,  but  pretty  soon  the  others  began 
to  come. 

"Has  anybody  seen  Skinny?"  I  asked,  looking 
at  Mr.  Norton. 

Skinny's  house  is  near  Mr.  Norton's,  and  we  had 
thought  that  maybe  they  would  come  together. 

"  I  stopped  in  as  I  passed,"  said  he.  "  Mrs.  Mil- 
ler told  me  that  he  had  started." 

Just  then  we  heard  a  caw,  sounding  from  over 
toward  Plunkett's  woods  somewhere.  It  didn't 
take  us  long  to  answer.  Then  we  watched  down 
the  railroad  track,  where  it  curves  into  town  be- 
tween the  wooded  hillside  and  the  river. 

We  didn't  have  long  to  wait.  In  a  few  minutes 
we  saw  Skinny  put  his  head  out  between  the  trees 
which  line  a  high  bank,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  above 
the  track.  He  looked  carefully  in  every  direction; 
waved  one  arm,  when  he  saw  that  we  were  watch- 
ing, and  then  dodged  back  again  out  of  sight. 

"  He's  surrounding  something,"  said  Bill,  giving 
a  caw  so  loud  it  must  have  almost  scared  the  crows 
up  in  the  Bellows  Pipe. 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  87 

"  There  are  only  four  minutes  left  before  leaving 
time." 

Mr.  Norton  was  looking  at  his  watch.  He  had 
hardly  spoken,  when,  with  a  whoop  and  yell,  Skinny 
slid  down  the  embankment  and  was  running  like 
mad  up  the  track  toward  us,  waving  his  hatchet 
in  one  hand  and  swinging  a  rope  around  his  head 
with  the  other. 

"  One  minute  to  spare,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  smiling 
as  he  put  his  watch  back  into  his  pocket.  "  That's 
the  way  to  do  it.  Be  prompt.  If  you  say  that 
you'll  be  somewhere  at  a  certain  time,  be  there." 

"  Say,  Skinny,"  said  Bill,  winking  at  me  and 
giving  the  Scout  salute,  "  did  you  get  'em  sur- 
rounded? " 

Skinny  wouldn't  answer,  or  even  look  at  him 
except  to  return  the  salute.  He  pulled  out  his  own 
watch,  held  it  a  moment;  then  pounded  on  the 
bridge  with  his  hatchet. 

"  The  meetin'  will  come  to  order?"  said  he. 

As  he  spoke,  the  bell  on  the  woolen  mill  began 
to  ring  and  we  knew  that  it  was  seven  o'clock  and 
time  to  start. 


88  A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike 

Quite  a  little  crowd  had  gathered  by  that  time 
and  there  was  a  cheer  when  the  boys  started,  Skinny 
and  Harry  marching  south  on  Center  Street,  side 
by  side,  and  Bill  and  Wallie,  north  on  Park  Street. 

Pretty  soon  their  ways  branched  off.  They 
turned  and  waved  to  us;  then  were  gone.  Once 
after  that  we  heard  some  crows  cawing  in  the 
distance,  and  a  little  later  I  heard  Bill  yell  from 
somewhere  down  the  river.  I  knew  that  he  was 
doing  his  best,  but  I  hardly  could  hear  him. 

It  wasn't  easy  to  wait  until  the  next  day,  with 
the  other  boys  gone  and  knowing  that  we  should 
have  to  do  it,  too,  in  the  morning. 

Pa  said  that  maybe  the  time  would  pass  more 
quickly  if  I'd  hoe  in  the  garden  a  spell,  but  it  didn't 
seem  to  make  any  difference.  My  mind  was  fol- 
lowing the  boys,  especially  Skinny,  on  his  long 
walk  over  a  hilly  road  to  Pumpkin  Hook. 

"  Scout's  law  says  that  we  must  be  useful  and 
help  others,"  he  had  told  us,  "  and,  bet  your  life, 
I  am  going  to  do  things." 

"  Maybe,"  said  he,  after  a  minute,  "  I  can  rescue 
some  fair  damsel  in  distress,  like  the  knights  used 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  89 

to  do,  even  If  there  ain't  any  dragons  now-a-days. 
The  road  goes  too  far  from  the  river  for  me  to 
save  anybody  from  drowning;  unless  I  come  back 
by  the  river  road." 

In  the  evening  Benny  and  I  sat  out  on  the  wood- 
pile, talking  about  it.  We  wondered  where  the 
boys  were  making  their  camps,  if  anything  would 
happen  to  them  and  if  Skinny  had  rescued  anybody 
yet. 

That  night  I  dreamed  that  I  was  on  the  way.  I 
met  a  little,  old  woman,  going  to  market,  and 
carried  her  basket  for  her. 

"  Noble  boy,"  said  she.  "  Because  of  your  kind 
act  I'll  change  shoes  with  you.  Mine  hurt  my 
feet." 

I  didn't  like  to  do  it  very  well  because  her  shoes 
were  old  and  shabby,  but  Scout  law  says  to  be 
courteous.  So  I  thanked  her  as  well  as  I  could 
and  put  them  on. 

And,  say,  they  were  magic  shoes.  I  got  to 
North  Adams  in  about  three  jumps  and  liked  it 
so  well  that  I  went  on  to  Boston.  I  was  just 
going  to   sleep   on   Boston   Common   when  a   big 


90  A  Fourteen- Mile  Hike 

policeman  grabbed  me  by  one  shoulder  and  gave 
me  a  shake. 

"  Quit !  "  I  said.  "  A  Scout's  honor  is  to  be 
trusted." 

"John!  John!"  came  a  voice.  "It's  time  to 
be  up  and  away." 

I  opened  my  eyes  and  there  was  Pa,  laughing 
down  at  me. 

"  You're  a  pretty  Scout,"  said  he.  "  It's  after 
six  o'clock  and  you  have  to  start  at  seven." 

Ma  hated  to  see  me  go,  knowing  that  I'd  be 
out  all  night,  but  Pa  didn't  care,  or  pretended  that 
he  didn't. 

"  He's  all  right,"  he  said.  "  What's  going  to 
hurt  him,  I'd  like  to  know  ?  " 

Before  seven  o'clock  the  four  of  us  were  at  the 
bridge  and,  say,  we  looked  fine  in  our  uniforms. 
Each  one  carried  a  little  pan  to  cook  in,  some  bacon 
and  other  things  to  eat,  and  a  blanket  strapped  on 
his  back.  We  also  carried  "  first  aid  to  injured  " 
things,  to  be  ready  if  we  should  find  somebody 
getting  hurt. 

When  the  bells  rang  for  seven  o'clock  we  started. 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  91 

This  time  it  was  Benny  and  I  who  went  north  on 
Park  Street,  and  Hank  and  Chuck,  south. 

"  You  watch  my  smoke,"  whispered  Hank  to  me, 
when  we  were  ready  to  start.  "  I've  got  a  new 
invention  and  I'm  going  to  try  it  on  somebody." 

When  we  were  passing  Benny's  house  Mrs.  Wade 
came  out  and  waved  to  us. 

"Benny  Wade,"  she  shouted,  "if  you  are  not 
home  by  nine  o'clock  to-night,  your  mother  will 
have  a  fit." 

I  knew  from  the  look  on  Benny's  face  how  hard 
it  was  for  him  to  be  cheerful,  when  he  wanted  to 
stay  out  all  night,  like  the  rest  of  us. 

"  All  right,  Ma,"  said  he.  "  Don't  worry.  I'll 
come  back,  if  I  live." 

"  If  you  live!  "  I  heard  her  yell;  but  Benny  was 
turning  the  corner  to  take  the  east  road  and  in 
another  second  was  out  of  sight. 

At  first  I  hardly  could  believe  that  I  really  was 
on  the  way.  I  took  Mr.  Norton's  message  out  of 
my  pocket  and  looked  at  it,  to  make  sure,  several 
times.  He  had  given  each  of  us  a  message  to  some 
one  at  the  end  of  the  line  and  told  us  to  bring  back 


92  A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike 

a  receipt  or  an  answer.  Mine  was  to  a  man  in 
North  Adams. 

The  Bob's  Hill  boys  are  used  to  walking.  That 
didn't  bother  me  any.  But  somehow  this  was  dif- 
ferent from  any  other  walk  that  I  ever  had  taken. 
I  suppose  it  was  because  it  was  so  important  and 
because  I  was  all  alone. 

I  walked  along  at  pretty  good  speed  until  I  had 
almost  reached  the  Gingham  Grounds.  Then  I 
slowed  down  and  kept  my  eyes  open  for  the  Gang, 
hoping  that  I  should  see  Jim  Donavan  somewhere. 
Jim  was  their  captain  and  one  of  our  best  friends, 
but  some  of  the  others  had  it  in  for  us. 

I  had  begun  to  think  that  I  was  going  to  get 
through  all  right,  without  any  trouble,  when  I 
saw  one  of  them  coming  toward  me.  He  was  one 
of  the  best  fighters  in  the  Gang,  too,  and  he  had 
a  dog  with  him.     Jim  was  nowhere  in  sight. 

Isn't  it  queer  what  things  will  come  into  your 
head  when  you  are  scared?  Pa  says  that  I  can't 
remember  twenty-five  cents'  worth  of  groceries 
from  our  house  to  the  store;  but  that  is  something 
else. 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  93 

I  was  scared,  all  right,  and  wanted  to  run,  be- 
cause fighting  always  is  scary  until  after  you  get 
started.  Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  I  thought  of  some- 
thing that  Pa  had  once  read  to  me  about  General 
Grant.  Grant  was  marching  up  a  hill  once,  expect- 
ing to  find  the  enemy  on  the  other  side  and 
wanting  to  run  all  the  time,  only  he  was  too 
proud.  Then  when  he  reached  the  top,  where 
he  could  see  down  into  the  enemy's  camp,  he 
found  that  they  had  been  more  scared  than 
he  was  and  not  so  proud,  for  they  had  run 
away. 

"  So,"  said  he,  or  something  like  it,  "  no  matter 
how  frightened  you  are,  or  how  much  you  want  to 
run,  remember  that  the  other  fellow  probably  is 
just  as  badly  scared  as  you  are." 

When  I  thought  of  that  I  braced  up  and  walked 
along  fast,  pretending  that  I  was  in  a  hurry  and 
didn't  see  him,  but  keeping  one  eye  on  him,  just 
the  same,  and  the  other  on  a  stone  which  lay  in 
the  road,  near  where  the  dog  stood  whining.  The 
boy  was  patting  his  head  and  trying  to  coax  him 
along. 


94  A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike 

He  pretended  that  he  didn't  see  me,  too,  until 
I  was  passing.     Then  he  spoke. 

"  Hello,  you  village  guy,"  said  he. 

"  Hello,  yourself,"  I  said,  stopping  and  edging 
toward  the  stone. 

"Where  do  you  think  you  are  going?" 

"  North  Adams." 

"What  for?" 

"  Oh,  just  for  fun." 

"  Huh !  "  said  he.     "  Ain't  the  trains  runnin'  ?  " 

"  I've  got  something  that's  better  than  trains. 
It's  legs." 

"What's  the  uniform  for?" 

"Anything  the  matter?"  I  asked,  after  I  had 
told  him  that  I  was  a  Boy  Scout,  for  I  could  see 
that  he  was  feeling  badly  about  something. 

"  It's  my  dog,"  he  told  me,  rubbing  his  sleeve 
across  his  eyes.  "  Somebody  broke  his  leg  with  a 
stone  and  I've  got  to  kill  him.     He's  all  I  have." 

"  A  Scout  should  be  kind  to  animals,"  I  said  to 
myself.  "  A  Scout  is  a  friend  to  all."  "  A  Scout 
should  be  useful." 

Then  I  answered  myself  back. 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  95 

"  What's  the  use  ?  This  ain't  any  damsel-in- 
distress  business,  like  Skinny  is  going  to  do.  Be- 
sides, if  I  hurry  maybe  I'll  get  a  chance  to 
signal  to  Benny  from  the  turn  in  the  road  on 
ahead." 

"  Come  on  and  help  me  kill  him,"  said  he. 

Just  then  the  dog  gave  such  a  pitiful  whine  that 
I  couldn't  stand  it,  Benny  or  no  Benny.  So  I  took 
out  my  bandage. 

"  I  think  I  can  fix  his  leg,  if  you'll  help  me,"  I 
told  him.     "  Get  me  a  couple  of  sticks." 

I  told  him  what  I  wanted,  and  when  he  had 
brought  them  and  I  had  whittled  them  into  shape 
to  use  as  splints,  I  fitted  the  broken  bones  in  place 
and  bandaged  the  leg,  just  as  Mr.  Norton  had 
taught  us,  while  the  boy  held  the  dog.  The  dog 
yelped  a  little,  but  seemed  to  know  that  I  was 
doing  it  to  help  him. 

"  It  will  soon  grow  together,"  I  said,  w^hen  I 
had  finished,  "  and  then  it  will  be  almost  as  good 
as  new." 

It  made  me  feel  kind  of  queer  and  happy  to  see 
how  glad  he  was.     The  dog  licked  my  hand,  too, 


96  A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike 

and  seemed  to  be  trying  to  say  something.     I  wish 
dogs  could  talk. 

"How  did  you  come  to  know  so  much?"  he 
asked.     "Is  your  father  a  doctor?" 

Then  I  told  him  all  about  the  Scouts  and  our 
hike  and  what  Mr.  Norton  had  said  about  wanting 
the  Gang  to  join. 

"Bully!"  said  he.  "We'll  do  it.  The  others 
went  up  on  the  mountain  this  morning  after  berries. 
I'd  have  gone,  too,  only  for  the  dog.  But  I'll  tell 
them  when  they  get  home  to-night." 

"  Say,"  I  called  out,  after  I  had  started  on. 
"  You  know  Benny  Wade,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  The  kid  what  always  goes  around  with  youse  ?  " 

I  nodded. 

"Yes,  I  know  him  when  I  see  him.     Why?" 

"  He'll  come  through  here  this  evening  some 
time,  on  his  way  back  from  North  Adams.  Let 
him  look  at  the  dog  and  see  if  he  is  all  right.  He 
knows  as  much  about  those  things  as  I  do.  Bill 
Wilson  ought  to  be  along  some  time  during  the  day 
on  his  way  back.  He  started  yesterday.  Say,  you 
ought  to  see  Bill  do  up  a  leg." 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  97 

Nothing  happened  after  that,  although  I  kept 
close  watch  of  the  river,  hoping  that  I  might  find 
somebody  drowning.  Some  boys  were  in  swim- 
ming at  one  place,  but  they  were  not  drowning  nor 
anywhere   near  it. 

I  could  have  reached  North  Adams  easily  long 
before  noon,  if  I  had  wanted  to,  but  I  had  all 
day  to  do  it  in,  so  loafed  along,  expecting  to  meet 
Bill  every  minute.  I  rested  in  the  shade  whenever 
I  felt  like  it.  But  although  I  did  a  lot  of  cawing 
every  few  minutes  and  kept  a  sharp  look-out,  I 
didn't  see  Bill,  and  I  didn't  hear  him,  which  I 
couldn't  understand,  unless  he  had  taken  the  east 
road  home  to  keep  away  from  the  Gingham 
Grounds. 

At  noon  I  went  down  by  the  river,  cut  a  pole, 
and  fished  a  little,  although  I  didn't  catch  any- 
thing. I  didn't  build  a  fire  and  cook  because  I  had 
a  good  lunch  in  my  pack.  It  seemed  sort  of  lone- 
some, being  there  so  far  away  and  knowing  I 
couldn't  go  home  when  night  came. 

After  a  long  rest  I  walked  on  until  I  came  to  a 
bridge,  and  then,   feeling  sure  Benny  must  be  in 


98  A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike 

North  Adams  by  that  time,  I  crossed  over  to  the 
east  road,  where  I  knew  some  folks,  and  went  up 
into  the  hills  to  where  Hoosac  Tunnel  begins.  It 
was  fun  to  see  the  trains  dart  in  and  out  of  that 
great  hole  which  reaches  four  miles  through  the 
mountain,  and  I  sat  there  a  long  time  watching. 

Four  o'clock  came  before  I  found  my  man  in 
North  Adams  and  delivered  the  message.  By  that 
time  I  was  tired  enough  to  go  into  camp  for  the 
night.  He  smiled  when  he  saw  me  coming  in  my 
Scout  uniform. 

"  This  letter,"  said  he,  when  he  had  read  it, 
*'  says  for  me  to  buy  you  a  life  size  ice  cream 
soda?     Do  you  want  it?" 

There  isn't  anything  in  Scout  law,  is  there,  which 
says  a  Scout  mustn't  eat  ice  cream  soda?  And  the 
tireder  and  hotter  you  are  the  better  it  tastes, 
doesn't  it  ?  I  guess  yes.  Only  I  wished  that  Benny 
was  there,  eating  one  with  me. 

That  night  I  camped  on  the  bank  of  a  brook, 
part  way  up  the  mountain  and  a  mile  or  more  be- 
yond the  city.  The  water  was  clear  as  crystal  and 
seemed   kind   of   company,    for   it    gurgled   as    it 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  99 

poured  over  the  stones,  making  music  that  was 
great. 

I  hardly  could  wait  to  build  a  fire  and  fry  my 
bacon,  I  was  so  hungry.  But  what  is  the  use  of 
carrying  bacon  and  a  pan  seven  miles,  unless  you 
fry  the  stuff  after  you  get  there?  I  tell  you  it 
tasted  good  and  so  did  the  wild  strawberries  that  I 
picked  aftervvard  for  dessert. 

But  when  it  began  to  grow  dark  and  lights  shone 
out  down  in  the  city  and  in  the  sky  above,  and 
queer  sounds  came  from  the  mountain  and  woods 
back  of  me,  I'd  have  given  fifteen  cents  to  have 
been  at  home,  or  at  any  rate,  to  have  had  some- 
body with  me. 

After  a  while  I  heard  a  voice  say: 

"  A  Scout  should  smile  and  look  pleasant." 

"Who— who— is  that  talking?"  I  asked. 

"  It's  your  friend,  the  brook,"  came  back  the 
answer,  in  a  sweet,  gurgly  voice.  "  I'm  a  Scout, 
too.     Hear  me  sing." 

"  So  am  I,"  came  the  deep  voice  of  the  mountain 
back  of  me.  "  A  Scout  should  be  brave.  Sleep, 
my  brother,     I'll  watch  over  you." 


fioo  A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike 

"  So  are  we  Scouts,"  came  in  whisperings  from 
every  side,  through  the  darkness,  and  I  knew  that 
the  trees  were  talking  to  me.  "  We'll  take  care  of 
you." 

Then  I  grew  brave  all  in  a  minute  and  started 
up  to  go  to  them.  As  I  did  so,  the  darkness  fled, 
leaving  me  there  lying  on  the  ground  in  broad 
daylight,  while  the  brook  sang  its  loudest  and  all 
the  trees  waved  good-morning.  Would  you  be- 
lieve it?  I  had  slept  all  night  long  and  dreamed 
that  about  the  brook  and  the  mountain. 

On  the  way  home,  I  came  in  sight  of  the  houses 
of  the  village  before  ten  o'clock,  tired  but  happy 
because  I  had  done  the  last  test  and  now  could  be  a 
First  Class  Scout. 

Benny  met  me  outside  the  village,  and  he  looked 
scared  when  he  saw  that  I  was  alone. 

"Have  you  seen  Bill  Wilson?"  he  shouted,  as 
soon  as  he  could  make  me  hear. 

"  I  missed  him  somewhere,"  I  called.  "  He  must 
have  come  back  by  the  east  road.  Why?  What's 
the  matter?" 

He  already  was  hurrying  home  so  fast  that  I 


A  Fourteen-Mile  Hike  loi! 

hardly  could  catch  up  with  him.  As  he  ran  he 
shouted  back  over  his  shoulder  something  that  set 
my  heart  to  beating  and  made  me  forget  how  tired 
I  was. 

**Bill  hasn't  come  back." 


c^ 


CHAPTER  VII 

BILL  hasn't  come  BACK*' 

LL  it  meant  to  say  that  Bill  hadn't  come  back 
did  not  come  over  me  until  I  found  myself 
hurrying  after  Benny  down  Park  Street.  Bill  had 
left  home  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day  before, 
intending  to  camp  out  one  night  and  come  back  the 
next  day.  Two  nights  had  passed  and  he  was 
still  away.     What  had  become  of  him? 

I  hurried  along  faster  and  faster,  thinking  of 
all  the  things  that  might  have  happened.  Mr. 
Norton  and  Bill's  folks  reached  the  house  almost 
as  soon  as  I  did.  I  don't  know  how  they  found 
out  that  I  had  come  back. 

Bill's  folks  were  nearly  crazy  about  him.     The 

first  night  out,  they  expected  him  to  be  away,  of 

course,  and  so  did  not  worry  much.     When  dinner 

time  came  the  next  day  and  he  hadn't  showed  up, 

they  began  to  wonder  what  was  keeping  him,  for  the 

zoe 


"Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back"  103 

other  boys  who  had  started  at  the  same  time  were 
home. 

When  night  came  again  and  he  still  was  away, 
they  began  to  grow  very  anxious  and  sent  for  Mr. 
Norton. 

"  I  can't  understand  it,"  said  he.  "  I  supposed 
that  he  had  come  home  long  ago,  and  have  been  too 
busy  to  find  out.  The  other  three  are  back,  I  un- 
derstand." 

"  Yes,  they  came  back  in  time  for  dinner." 

"  I  am  surprised  that  William  is  still  out,  but 
do  not  feel  alarmed,  Mrs.  Wilson.  Something  has 
detained  him,  but  it  cannot  be  anything  serious. 
Both  roads  to  North  Adams  are  well  traveled  and 
the  farmhouses  are  near  together.  As  likely  as 
not  he  stopped  to  help  somebody  out  of  a  difficulty 
and  it  has  taken  longer  than  he  expected.  One  of 
our  laws,  you  know,  says  that  a  Scout's  duty  is 
to  be  useful  and  to  do  somebody  a  good  turn  every 
day.  I'll  run  over  and  talk  with  Wallace.  They 
started  together  and  may  have  met  when  they 
crossed  over  from  one  road  to  the  other. 

Mr.  Norton  was  more  anxious  than  he  pretended. 


I04         ''Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back" 

Wallie  said  that  he  hadn't  seen  him  and  hadn't 
heard  him,  which  was  worse,  for  Bill  usually  could 
be  heard  a  long  way  off.  Wallie  said  that  he  had 
called  to  him  every  few  rods  when  crossing  over 
to  the  west  road  beyond  North  Adams  but  hadn't 
heard  a  thing.  It  would  have  been  easy  for  them 
to  miss  each  other,  unless  they  happened  to  take 
the  same  crossroad. 

"  I  might  get  track  of  him  in  North  Adams," 
said  Mr.  Norton,  after  a  little.  "  You  see,  I  gave 
him  a  message  to  deliver  to  a  friend  of  mine  there. 
He  surely  will  know  something  about  him,  but  he 
hasn't  a  telephone  and  I  think  is  out  of  town  to- 
day, anyhow.  Maybe  I'd  better  drive  up.  The 
boy  probably  will  get  back  before  I  do,  but  it  will 
make  me  feel  better  to  be  doing  something." 

By  that  time  everybody  was  getting  scared.  I 
mean  all  our  folks  were.  Mrs.  Wade  was  sure 
that  Benny  never  would  come  home  again,  although 
it  wasn't  quite  nine  o'clock,  the  time  when  he  said 
he  would  come. 

Mrs.  Wade  is  all  right  most  of  the  time,  only 
she  can  think  of  more  trouble  for  Benny  to  get 


"  Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back  "  105 

into  than  he  could  find  in  a  week,  if  he  looked  for 
it.  Mothers  are  often  that  way.  I  guess  it  is  be- 
cause they  like  us  so  well. 

"  He  said  he  would  come  back,  if  he  lived. 
Those  were  his  last  words.     And  he  hasn't  come." 

She  told  that  to  Ma,  over  and  over  again. 

"  He'll  come  back  all  right,"  said  Ma,  "  and  so 
will  John,  when  the  time  comes." 

But  she  was  worried  about  me,  just  the  same, 
all  on  account  of  Bill.  Of  course,  I  didn't 
know  about  it  at  the  time.  I  found  out  after- 
ward. 

No  one  ever  made  better  time  driving  the  six 
miles  to  North  Adams  than  Mr.  Norton  did  that 
night.  Just  outside  the  village  he  met  Benny,  com- 
ing on  a  run,  and  stopped  long  enough  to  ask  him 
if  he  had  seen  Bill. 

"  No,"  said  he.  "  I  missed  him.  The  Gang 
held  me  up  at  the  Gingham  Ground  and  almost 
made  me  late.  I  told  Ma  that  I  would  be  home 
by  nine  o'clock  if  I  lived.  I'm  'most  dead,  but 
guess  I  can  hold  out  until  I  get  there.     She'll  be 


io6         "  Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back  " 

having  a  fit  pretty  soon  if  I  don't  hurry.  What 
time  is  it,  anyhow  ?  " 

Mr,  Norton  whipped  up  his  horse  before  Benny 
finished. 

"  WilHam  hasn't  come  back ! ''  he  shouted  over 
his  shoulder,  just  as  Benny  called  to  me  in 
almost  the  same  place.  Then  he  tore  down  the 
road  toward  the  Gingham  Ground. 

It  was  after  midnight  when  he  came  back.  There 
was  a  light  burning  in  our  house  and  he 
stopped. 

"  He  has  not  been  there !  "  was  all  that  he  could 
say,  when  Pa  met  him  at  the  door. 

"Hasn't  been  there!" 

*'  No,  I  found  Jenks,  to  whom  I  had  sent  the 
message,  and  he  said  that  he  had  se^n  nothing  of 
him,  although  he  had  been  expecting  him.  You 
see,  I  told  him  that  the  boy  was  coming.  The 
message  has  not  been  delivered." 

"  Mr.  Smith,"  he  went  on,  after  a  moment,  "  I 
can't  face  Mrs.  Wilson  with  that  news.  You  go 
to  her,  while  I  get  the  marshal  started  and  see  if 
something  cannot  be  done.     I  tell  you  something 


''Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back"  107 

has  happened.  I  am  convinced  of  that.  Young 
Wilson  would  have  delivered  that  message  If  he 
possibly  could  have  reached  the  place,  and  it  would 
have  taken  a  great  deal  to  stop  him.  There  isn't 
a  yellow  streak  in  that  boy  anywhere." 

"  Did  you  make  any  inquiries?  " 

"  Yes,  I  stopped  at  every  house  along  the  road 
where  there  was  a  light  burning.  Not  a  person 
had  seen  him,  although  several  had  seen  your  boy 
on  the  way  out.  At  North  Adams  I  notified  the 
police,  but  I  don't  know  what  they  can  do." 

"  I'll  go  to  Mrs.  Wilson  right  away,"  Pa  told 
him.  "  This  certainly  is  bad  business,  but  we  can't 
do  much  until  morning.  As  soon  as  it  is  daylight 
we'll  send  out  a  search  party.  There  are  only  two 
roads,  unless  he  went  up  through  the  Notch,  which 
is  not  at  all  probable.  It  ought  not  to  be  a  difficult 
matter  to  get  some  trace  of  him." 

"  I'll  tell  you  where  he  is,"  he  went  on,  after 
thinking  a  minute.  "  He  met  my  John  and  went 
back  to  camp  all  night  with  him.  They  will  come 
home  together  to-morrow;  you  see  if  they  don't. 
John  is  a  pretty  safe  boy.     He's  full  of  pranks. 


io8  "  Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back  " 

like   the   others,   but   he   is   more   cautious.     He'll 
come  home  all  right  and  bring  Bill  with  him." 

Mr,  Norton  shook  his  head. 

"  I  sincerely  hope  so,"  he  said,  "  but  it  is  not  at 
all  probable.  Mr.  Smith,  I  never  will  forgive  my- 
self if  anything  has  happened  to  that  boy." 

"  You  are  not  to  blame  at  all,"  Pa  told  him. 
**  Depend  upon  it,  if  anything  has  happened,  and 
we  don't  know  that  there  has,  the  boy  himself  is 
to  blame.  He  is  a  fine  lad,  but  is  a  little  reckless 
and  thoughtless  at  times.  Cheer  up.  It  might 
be  a  lot  worse.  Now,  if  the  boys  had  gone  up  into 
the  mountains  as  they  talked  of  doing  at  first,  there 
would  be  real  cause  for  worry." 

That  was  why  Benny  waited  for  me  outside  the 
village  the  next  day,  and  why  Mr.  Norton  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  met  me  at  the  house  and  why 
Skinny  and  the  other  boys  came  in  a  few  minutes 
afterward. 

Mrs.  Wilson  knew  by  my  face  that  I  had  not 
seen  anything  of  Bill  and  burst  out  crying. 

"  There  couldn't  have  anything  happened  to 
him,  Mrs.  Wilson,"  I  told  her,  sort  of  choking  up 


"Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back"  109 

in  my  throat,  myself,  because  she  was  feeling  so 
bad.  "  I  mean  anything  much.  Maybe  a  tramp 
locked  him  up  somewhere  when  he  was  asleep,  or 
some  gipsies  stole  him.  I  saw  some  gipsies  up 
above  North  Adams  and  they  were  going  west 
to  beat  the  band.  But  he'll  get  away  from  them. 
I'll  bet  on  Bill  every  time." 

When  I  spoke  of  gipsies  to  make  Mrs.  Wilson 
feel  better  it  seemed  to  scare  her  worse  than  ever. 

"  Nonsense ! "  said  Pa.  "  Gipsies  don't  go 
around  stealing  thirteen-year-old  boys,  who  can 
make  as  much  noise  as  Bill  can." 

"  Well,  I  saw  some,  anyhow,"  I  told  him. 

Just  then  Skinny  jumped  out  in  front  of  the  rest 
of  us,  with  his  eyes  shining  and  his  cheeks  redder 
than  I  ever  had  seen  them  before,  and  stood  there 
with  his  arms  folded,  like  a  bandit,  or  a  Scout,  I 
don't  know  which. 

"  Fellers,"  said  he,  "  Scouts,  I  mean.  We  got 
Bill  into  this  scrape  and  we  will  get  him  out  again. 
This  is  a  job  for  us,  not  for  the  police.  If  any- 
body can  find  Bill,  bet  your  life  we  can.  We  know 
the  call  of  the  Ravens.     We  know  the  signs  and 


no  "Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back" 

we  know  Bill  better  than  his  own  folks  know  him. 
We'll  track  him.  We'll  follow  him  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth.     Will  you  go  with  me?" 

We  sprang  up  with  a  cheer,  forgetting  how  tired 
we  were,  those  of  us  who  had  just  come  home  from 
the  long  walk. 

"  Everybody  scatter  and  look  for  signs." 

"  Wait  a  minute,  boys,"  said  Ma.  "  It's  almost 
dinner  time.  You  must  not  start  without  some- 
thing to  eat.  There  is  no  telling  when  you  will 
get  back.  Let  me  give  you  a  bite  in  the  kitchen 
first." 

That  was  just  like  Ma.  We  saw  in  a  minute  it 
was  the  thing  to  do  and  hurried  in  for  a  quick 
lunch. 

"  The  boy  is  right,"  we  heard  Pa  saying. 
"  They'll  find  him,  depend  upon  it.  I  never  knew 
those  boys  to  get  into  a  scrape  yet  that  they  couldn't 
pull  out  of.  But  it  won't  hurt  if  the  rest  of  us 
look  around  a  little,  too." 

"Who  saw  him  last?"  asked  Skinny,  after  we 
had  started. 

"I   did,"   said  Wallie.     "We   walked   together 


''Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back"  in 

until  I  turned  off  to  take  the  east  road.  He  kept 
straight  on  toward  the  Gingham  Ground  and  I 
heard  him  yell  some  time  afterward." 

"  You  don't  suppose  that  the  Gang  got  after  him, 
do  you,  and  locked  him  up  or  something?" 

"  I'll  bet  that's  what  they  did,"  said  Benny. 
*'  That  is  just  what  happened.  They  got  after  me, 
too.  I  was  scared  half  to  death  and  didn't  want 
to  go  through  the  Grounds,  but  it  was  getting  late 
and  I  knew  that  Ma  would  be  worried,  so  I  braced 
up  and  started  through  on  a  run.  In  a  minute  two 
of  them  ran  out  and  grabbed  me  by  the  collar. 

"  '  It's  one  of  them  village  kids,'  said  one  of  them. 
*  Let's  call  the  Gang  and  duck  him.  He  needs  it 
to  cool  off.' 

"  Then  he  whistled  and  a  lot  of  the  others  came 
and  they  hustled  me  down  to  the  river.  Gee,  I 
was  mad  and  I  was  scared.  Then,  just  as  I  had 
about  given  up,  another  boy  came  chasing  after  us. 

"  '  Is  this  Benny  Wade  ? '  said  he. 

"  '  It's  all  that  is  left  of  me,'  I  told  him. 

"  With  that  he  jumped  in  and  took  hold  of  me. 

"  *  Youse  ain't  a  goin'  to  duck  this  kid,'  said  he. 


112  "Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back" 

*  unless  you  duck  me  along  with  him.  His  partner 
came  through  here  this  morning  and  fixed  my  dog's 
broken  leg  and  he  told  me  to  watch  out  for  Benny 
Wade  and  have  him  look  at  the  bandage,  to  see  if 
it  was  all  right.  Now^  kid,  you  come  along  with 
me  and  look  at  my  dog.' 

"  *  Duck  'em  both,'  said  some  one. 

"  I  guess  maybe  they  would  have  done  it,  too, 
if  Jim  Donavan  hadn't  come  along  just  in  time." 

"  Maybe  it  was  Bill  who  fixed  up  the  dog,"  said 
Hank. 

*'  No,  I  did  it,"  I  told  them. 

We  had  been  walking  along  while  Benny  was 
talking.  What  he  said  surprised  us  some  and 
would  have  made  us  mad  at  any  other  time.  Benny 
had  been  so  worried  about  Bill  that  he  hadn't  said 
anything  about  himself  before,  and  neither  had  any 
of  us. 

"  The  first  thing  to  do,"  said  Skinny,  *'  is  to  go 
to  Jim's  house  and  start  from  there.  If  Bill  went 
through  the  Gingham  Ground  I'll  bet  that  some  of 
the  Gang  saw  him." 

The  place  which  we  call  the  Gingham  Ground  is 


"Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back"  113 

a  settlement  near  some  big  gingham  mills.  There 
are  two  long  rows  of  brick  tenement  houses  with 
a  street  between.  We  knew  that  Skinny  was  right, 
because  Bill  would  have  had  to  walk  dow^n  that 
street  between  the  rows  of  houses,  and  some  one 
would  have  been  sure  to  see  him.  He  might  have 
stopped  at  Jim's,  or,  anyhow,  would  have  called  to 
him  when  he  passed. 

It  didn't  take  us  long  to  get  there,  and  as  we 
came  near  we  could  see  the  Gang  getting  together. 
You  see,  they  thought  we  were  after  them  on  ac- 
count of  what  they  had  done  to  Benny, 

We  didn't  pay  much  attention  to  them  but  went 
straight  to  Jim's  house  and  found  him  eating  din- 
ner.    He  was  surprised  to  see  us  and  was  glad. 

"  Wait  until  I  call  the  Gang,"  said  he,  after  we 
had  told  him  about  Bill. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  had  all  come  up,  as  friendly 
as  could  be  when  they  found  out  that  we  were  not 
looking  for  a  fight. 

Not  one  of  them  had  seen  Bill.  They  all  knew 
him  and  they  felt  sure  that  if  he  had  gone  through 
in  daylight  some  of  them  would  have  seen  him. 


114  "Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back" 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  we'd  better  do,"  said  Jim, 
finally.  "  I  don't  believe  that  he  came  this  way,  but, 
to  make  sure,  the  Gang  will  work  north  from  here 
and  ask  at  every  house.  You  go  back  and  look 
between  here  and  the  village.  If  he  left  there  and 
didn't  get  as  far  as  this,  then  he  must  have  turned 
off  somewhere." 

We  went  back,  stopping  at  every  house  we  came 
to,  on  each  side  of  the  road.  We  couldn't  find  a 
person  who  remembered  having  seen  him  or  any 
one  like  him.  You  see,  if  he  passed  at  all,  it  must 
have  been  soon  after  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  men  had  gone  to  work  in  the  mills  and  the 
women  were  busy  in  the  back  parts  of  the  houses. 

Then  we  started  back  again,  not  knowing  what 
to  do  next.  There  was  one  house,  larger  than  the 
others,  which  we  had  not  visited,  because  it  stood 
high  above  the  road  on  a  hillside  and  could  be 
reached  only  by  a  long  driveway.  It  was  about 
halfway  between  the  Gingham  Ground  and  our 
house  in  the  village.  We  couldn't  think  of  any- 
thing else  to  do,  so  we  went  up  there. 

"  I   don't  remember  seeing  any   one,"   said  the 


"Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back"  115 

lady  who  met  us  at  the  door.  "Of  course,  there 
are  boys  passing  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  I  might 
have  seen  him." 

We  looked  at  Skinny  in  despair. 

"  This  one,"  said  he,  "  was  probably  making  a 
noise.     Maybe  he  was  cawing  like  a  crow." 

"  I  saw  him.  Mama,"  shouted  a  little  girl,  who 
had  come  up  and  stood  listening.  "  I  saw  a  boy 
go  past,  making  an  awful  racket,  and  it  sounded 
something  like  a  crow." 

"  Was  he  carrying  anything?  "  I  asked. 

"  Yes,  he  had  a  rolled-up  blanket  on  his  back. 
I  remember  thinking  he  looked  funny  and  wonder- 
ing what  he  was  going  to  do  with  it.  Oh,  yes,  he 
had  on  a  uniform,  too." 

"  It  was  Bill,  all  right,"  said  Skinny.  "  We've 
struck  the  trail  at  last." 

We  went  down  to  the  road  and  talked  it  over. 

"  He  passed  here,"  said  Skinny,  "  on  time  and 
going  north,  and  he  didn't  pass  through  the  Ging- 
ham Ground.  We  feel  sure  of  that  much.  He 
must  have  turned  off  somewhere  in  the  next  half- 
mile." 


ii6  "Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back" 

"  We  know  something  else,"  I  told  him.  "  He 
couldn't  have  turned  east,  because  the  river  is  in 
the  v/ay  and  there  isn't  any  bridge." 

We  made  up  our  minds  to  separate,  one  party  to 
work  north  from  where  we  were  standing;  one  to 
work  south  from  the  Gingham  Ground,  and  the 
others  to  work  in  between,  to  see  if  we  could  find 
where  he  had  left  the  road. 

"  Look  for  a  sign,"  said  Skinny,  "  and  look  on 
the  west  side.  There  isn't  much  chance  for  finding 
footprints." 

Hank  was  the  one  who  found  it.  We  heard  him 
yell  and  went  to  him  on  a  run. 

He  came  out  to  the  roadside  and  waited  for  us, 
waving  his  hat  in  the  air,  he  was  so  excited;  then, 
when  we  had  come  up,  took  us  back  from  the  road 
through  a  sort  of  lane,  which  pretty  soon  turned 
south  and  wound  off  through  the  woods. 

Just  at  the  turn  stood  a  big  stone,  out  of  sight 
from  the  road.  That  is  why  we  had  not  seen  it 
before.  On  the  stone  was  something  which  set  us 
all  yelling. 

It  was  a  circle  and  in  the  circle  was  the  picture 


"Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back"  117 

of  a  crow  and  there  was  an  arrow.  It  was  the 
Scout  sign  for  "  I  took  this  path."  The  crow 
meant  that  whoever  drew  the  sign  belonged  to 
Raven  Patrol.  We  knew  then  that  it  was 
Bill. 

"  We've  got  him,"  shouted  Skinny.  "  He  went 
through  this  way  so  as  not  to  meet  the  Gang." 

It  did  look  like  that,  but  although  we  examined 
every  inch  of  the  way  between  there  and  the  Ging- 
ham Ground,  we  couldn't  find  another  sign  of  any 
kind.  And  we  couldn't  understand  why  he  had 
not  delivered  the  message  to  Mr.  Jenks  and  come 
back  home. 

Sorrowfully  we  made  our  way  out  to  the  sign 
again  and  sat  down  to  rest  and  talk  about  what  to 
do  next. 

"Guess  what!"  said  Benny,  after  a  little. 
**  That  arrow  doesn't  point  toward  the  Gingham 
Ground  at  all.  It  points  straight  back  from  the 
road.     Let's  go  that  way  and  see." 

There  didn't  seem  to  be  much  use  in  doing  it,  but 
.we  had  to  do  something. 

"  Come  on,"  said  Skinny,  springing  up.     "  He 


Ii8  "Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back" 

is  somewhere;  that's  a  cinch,  and  we  know  that  he 
was  all  right  when  he  drew  that  sign." 

We  hurried  along  and  soon  struck  a  little  path, 
up  which  we  ran  as  fast  as  we  could,  for  it  was 
growing  late. 

"  Look  for  another  sign,"  warned  Skinny. 
"  Scouts  and  Injuns  always  mark  the  paths  they 
take." 

"  Hurrah,  here  it  is !  "  he  shouted,  a  little  farther 
on. 

When  we  had  come  up,  he  pointed  to  a  stone, 
which  had  been  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  path, 
with  a  smaller  stone  on  top  of  it.  It  was  the 
Indian  sign  for  "  This  is  the  trail," 

We  couldn't  understand  it,  for  it. was  leading 
away  from  North  Adams. 

We  hurried  on,  calling  every  now  and  then,  but 
not  a  sound  could  we  hear,  except  the  birds  and 
squirrels,  and  not  another  sign  or  track  could  we 
find. 

All  that  time  we  were  going  uphill  and  away 
from  North  Adams.  At  last,  we  came  out  of  the 
woods  on  top  of  the  hill,  where  we  could  see  up 


"Bill  Hasn't  Come  Back"  119 

and  down  the  valley,  and  Greylock  over  beyond. 
Feeling  too  disappointed  to  speak  we  threw  our- 
selves down  on  the  grass. 

Suddenly  Skinny  gave  a  yell  and  we  thought  for 
a  moment  that  he  had  gone  crazy. 

"Look!  Look!  Look  there!"  he  shouted,, 
pointing  back  at  the  mountain. 

We  looked;  then,  when  the  full  meaning  of  what 
we  saw  came  to  us,  grew  as  excited  as  he  was,  threw 
our  hats  in  the  air,  and  danced  around  and  cheered 
ourselves  hoarse. 

From  the  very  top  of  Greylock,  two  columns, 
of  smoke  were  going  almost  straight  up,  for  there; 
happened  to  be  no  wind  to  speak  of.  If  it  was; 
Bill,  and  we  felt  sure  that  it  was,  those  two  columns; 
of  smoke  meant : 

"  I  have  lost  the  camp.     Help." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SMOKE  SIGNALS  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN 

EFORE  Bill  started  on  his  trip  he  made  up 
his  mind  that  he  would  walk  farther  and  do 
a  bigger  stunt  than  any  of  us.  When  Bill  Wilson 
is  for  anything,  he  is  for  it.  There  is  no  halfway 
doings  with  him.  He  didn't  take  to  the  Scout 
business  very  well  at  first  because  he  didn't  know 
much  about  it  and  thought  that  Indians  or  bandits 
would  be  better.  But  as  soon  as  he  had  joined  he 
cared  more  than  anybody. 

Trying  to  do  more  than  the  other  Scouts  did 
was  what  got  him  into  trouble.  He  started  for 
North  Adams,  the  same  as  Wallie,  Benny,  and 
myself,  and  he  took  with  him  a  message  for  Mr. 
Jenks,  as  I  have  said.  But  a  seven-mile  walk  and 
back  again  the  next  day  was  not  good  enough  for 
Bill.  He  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  deliver 
the  message  first  and  then  go  on  as  far  as  Williams- 
town  and  stay  all  night  there. 


Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain     121 

Williamstown  is  five  or  six  miles  west  of  North 
Adams.  There  is  a  big  college  there,  called  Wil- 
liams College.  I  guess  it  was  the  name  that  made 
Bill  think  of  going  there. 

Our  valley  runs  north  and  south  until  it  gets  to 
North  Adams  and  then  turns  west.  Hoosac  River 
turns  with  it.  After  flowing  north  all  the  time, 
which  everybody  knows  is  no  way  for  a  river  t© 
flow,  it  turns  west,  and  so  finally  reaches  the  Hud- 
son. Then,  of  course,  its  waters  flow  south  in  the 
Hudson  and  at  last  reach  the  Atlantic  Ocean  at 
New  York. 

After  Bill  had  left  Wallie  the  first  morning  of 
his  trip,  he  walked  along  lively,  knowing  that  he 
had  a  long  way  to  go  to  Williamstown,  and  he  did 
a  lot  of  cawing  on  the  road,  just  as  Skinny  thought. 
Nothing  happened  to  him  at  all  until  he  found  him- 
self almost  to  the  Gingham  Ground.  Then  he  savr 
five  or  six  members  of  the  Gang  playing  ball  near 
where  he  would  pass. 

That  made  him  stop.  Bill  is  brave,  all  right,  but 
what  is  the  good  of  being  brave  when  they  are  six 
to  your  one,  and  the  whole  six  have  it  in  for  you? 


fi22     Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain 

That  is  what  Bill  thought,  anyhow,  and  he 
started  to  leave  the  road  and  try  to  work  around 
out  of  sight  through  the  woods  and  fields.  Then 
he  thought  of  something  to  do,  which  scared  him 
at  first,  but  the  more  he  thought  about  it,  the  more 
he  wanted  to  do  it. 

Hoosac  Valley,  as  I  have  said,  swings  off  toward 
the  west  at  North  Adams.  That  brings  Williams- 
town  on  the  opposite  side  of  Greylock  from  where 
we  live. 

We  found  that  out  once  when  we  went  up  on  the 
mountain  and  came  near  getting  lost,  which  you 
know  if  you  have  read  about  the  doings  of  the 
Band.  Almost  straight  down  in  front  of  us,  on 
the  east,  was  our  village,  with  Bob's  Hill  back  of 
it,  looking  flat  and  not  like  a  hill  at  all.  We  could 
tell  that  it  was  Bob's  Hill  because  we  could  see 
the  twin  stones,  standing  there  like  tiny  thimbles 
on  a  table.  Looking  north,  we  could  see  North 
Adams;  looking  south,  Cheshire,  and  on  the  west 
side  of  the  mountain  and  a  little  north,  was  Wil- 
liamstown. 

Bill   thought   of  that   when   he   was   wondering 


Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain     123 

how  he  could  pass  the  Gingham  Ground  without 
the  Gang's  seeing  him. 

"What's  the  use  of  going  that  way  at  all?''  he 
said  to  himself.  *'  What's  the  matter  with  going 
straight  back  over  the  hills,  climbing  Greylock,  and 
then,  after  seeing  exactly  where  Williamstown  is, 
making  a  bee  line  for  it?  I  can  deliver  the  mes- 
sage on  the  way  back." 

Say,  that  would  be  a  great  stunt !  We  are  going 
to  do  it  some  time,  when  we  get  bigger  and  our 
folks  get  over  being  scared. 

He  wanted  to  prove  to  us  that  he  had  done  it; 
so  made  signs  at  different  places  on  the  way,  be- 
ginning where  he  turned  off  the  road.  We  struck 
the  trail  at  the  second  sign. 

Bill  can  beat  us  all  climbing  and  he  went  along 
fast,  having  a  lot  of  fun  all  by  himself.  There 
is  a  path  which  leads  up  on  Greylock  from  the 
Gingham  Ground;  he  followed  that. 

Before  he  had  gone  far  he  found  a  couple  of 
bottles,  which  some  one  had  thrown  away,  and 
he  hung  those  around  his  neck  with  a  string.  He 
took   them   both   so   that   one   would   balance  the 


124     Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain 

other.  You  see,  he  knew  that  there  was  no  water 
on  Greylock.  It  has  to  be  carried  there  from  some 
spring  part  way  up.  The  day  was  hot,  and  he 
was  thirsty,  already. 

When  the  sun  grew  hotter  he  took  it  easy  along, 
picking  berries  and  lying  around  in  the  shade.  He 
didn't  get  to  the  spring,  where  he  was  going  to  fill 
kis  bottles,  until  almost  noon.  After  that  there 
was  a  hard  climb  to  get  to  the  top,  as  steep  as 
Bob's  Hill,  maybe  steeper  in  places. 

He  stopped  at  the  spring  to  rest  and  eat  his 
lunch;  also  to  fix  some  signs. 

At  last  he  stood  on  the  very  top  of  Greylock, 
which,  as  you  probably  know,  is  the  highest  moun- 
tain in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  it  has  all 
kinds  of  mountains.  Our  geography  says  that  it 
is  3,505  feet  high.  Those  last  five  feet  seemed  a 
mile  to  Bill,  and  they  would  to  you,  if  you  were 
climbing  the  mountain  on  a  hot  day,  with  a  pack 
on  your  back  and  two  bottles  of  water  hanging 
from  your  neck. 

I  guess  there  never  had  been  so  much  cawing 
on  the  top  of  Greylock  as  when  Bill  stood  there. 


Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain     125 

after  his  hard  climb,  looking  down  on  the  hills, 
which  did  not  seem  hke  hills,  he  was  so  much 
higher. 

The  air  was  so  clear  that  Williamstown  seemed 
close.  So,  after  resting  a  few  minutes  and  draw- 
ing the  sign  on  a  flat  rock  to  show  which  way  he 
had  gone,  he  started  down  the  west  side  of  the 
mountain  on  a  run,  whooping  and  yelling  like  an 
Indian  at  every  jump. 

Then,  just  as  he  was  thinking  how  easy  it  was 
and  what  fun  he  would  have  bragging  to  us  boys 
about  what  he  had  done,  he  caught  his  foot  in  a 
root  or  something,  fell  headlong,  rolled  down  until 
he  struck  a  tree;  then  lay  still. 

How  long  he  had  lain  there,  when  he  finally 
came  to  life  again,  he  couldn't  tell.  At  first  he 
didn't  know  where  he  was  or  what  had  happened. 
Then  he  remembered  and  tried  to  get  on  his  feet 
and  go  on. 

With  a  cry  of  pain,  he  sank  back  again.  He  had 
sprained  his  ankle  and  hardly  could  move  it  without 
yelling. 

.When  Robinson  Crusoe  was  shipwrecked  on  an 


126     Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain 

island  he  wrote  on  a  piece  of  paper  the  good  things 
and  the  bad  things  that  had  happened  to  him.  To 
start  with,  he  wrote  on  one  side,  "  I  am  shipwrecked 
on  an  island,"  or  something  like  that,  and  on  the 
other,  "  but  I  am  alive." 

Bill  did  the  same,  only  he  didn't  write  it.  He 
thought  it. 

"  I've  busted  my  ankle,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  but 
I  didn't  break  my  bottles  or  spill  my  water. 

"  I  can't  walk  a  step,  but  I  can  yell  to  beat  the 
band. 

"  I  can't  get  to  Williamstown  and  I  can't  get 
home,  but  I  have  something  to  eat  in  my  pack  and 
plenty  of  matches  in  my  pocket. 

^'  Nobody  knows  where  I  am,  but " 

That  last  "  but "  was  to  much  for  Bill.  He 
couldn't  find  anything  to  go  with  it,  for  he  began 
to  think  of  what  Pa  had  told  us,  that  if  a  person 
should  get  hurt  on  the  mountain  he  might  die  there 
and  not  be  found  for  weeks  or  years.  His  ankle 
was  aching  fearfully,  too. 

He  tried  yelling  for  a  while  and  Bill  is  the  best 
yeller  that  I  ever  saw  or  heard. 


Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain     127 

"  Help !     Help !  "  he  cried.     "  HELP !  " 

He  might  as  well  have  saved  his  breath  for  all 
the  good  it  did. 

Then  he  lay  still  for  a  long  time,  trying  to  think 
what  to  do.  That  was  what  Mr.  Norton  had  told 
us. 

"  If  anything  happens,"  said  he,  "  don't  lose  your 
heads.  Think  it  over  calmly.  Decide  what  is  best 
to  do  and  then  do  it." 

"  I'm  a  Scout,"  said  Bill  to  himself,  "  and,  bet 
your  life,  I  ain't  a  going  to  stay  here  and  die  on 
no  mountain." 

He  took  off  his  shoe  and  stocking  and  bathed  his 
ankle  in  water  from  one  of  the  bottles — not  much 
water  because  he  couldn't  spare  it,  and  he  took  a 
little  sip  himself.  Then  he  thought  of  his  "  first 
aid  to  the  injured  "  package. 

"What's  the  matter  with  bandaging  myself?" 
said  he.     "  It  will  be  good  practice." 

When  he  had  finished  and  had  rested  a  few  min- 
utes, he  found  that  his  ankle  did  not  hurt  him  quite 
so  much  and  that  he  could  move  around  a  little,  if 
he  didn't  bear  any  weight  on  it. 


128      Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain 

He  thought  at  first  that  he  would  crawl  on  his 
hands  and  knees  to  Williamstown,  or  until  he  came 
to  some  house,  but  when  he  tried  he  found  that 
he  couldn't  do  it. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  I  can  do,"  he  said  at  last, 
because  he  liked  to  hear  somebody  talking,  even 
if  it  was  only  himself.  "  Maybe  I  can  crawl 
back  to  the  top  of  Greylock.  Nobody  ever 
would  find  me  here  and  folks  sometimes  go  up 
there." 

The  Boy  Scouts  of  Raven  Patrol  think  that  it 
took  grit  to  crawl  up  the  steep  and  rough  moun- 
tainside, with  his  ankle  hurting  at  every  move  so 
badly  that  it  made  him  feel  faint. 

It  wasn't  far  to  the  top,  but  Bill  thought  he 
never  would  get  there,  he  had  to  stop  so  many  times 
to  rest  and  wait  for  the  pain  to  go  away.  An  hour 
or  more  passed  before  he  finally  crawled  out  into 
the  clearing,  with  nothing  but  the  blue  sky  above 
him. 

It  was  then  getting  late  in  the  afternoon.  Skinny 
was  at  Pumpkin  Hook  by  that  time,  probably  sur- 
rounding the  enemy.     Wallie  was  somewhere  in 


Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain      129 

North  Adams  or  beyond.  I  was  hoeing  the  garden 
at  the  very  foot  of  Greylock,  Httle  thinking  that 
Bill  was  in  so  much  trouble  on  top. 

The  summit  of  Greylock  is  almost  level  and  is 
not  very  large.  On  the  east  side  Bill  saw  a  lot 
of  brush  which  somebody  had  cut  and  piled  up, 
probably  to  make  a  big  fire;  then  for  some  reason 
had  not  lighted  it, 

'  He  crawled  over  to  that  after  the  sun  went  down, 
built  a  little  fire,  and  cooked  a  small  piece  of  bacon 
for  his  supper,  which  he  ate  with  a  piece  of  bread 
and  butter.  It  tasted  good,  but  it  made  him  thirsty 
and  he  didn't  dare  drink  much  water. 

Then,  being  tired  out  and  more  comfortable,  he 
said  his  prayer  and  repeated  all  of  the  Scout  laws, 
from  being  loyal  to  being  reverent,  wondering 
what  good  it  was  doing  him  to  have  two  dollars 
in  the  bank  down  in  the  village,  and  went  to 
sleep. 

When  he  awoke  it  was  broad  daylight.  Benny 
and  I  were  just  starting  on  our  hikes,  down  in 
Park  Street,  but  he  couldn't  see  us,  Bob's  Hill  being 
in  the  way.     By  standing  upon  his  one  good  foot. 


130     Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain 

he  could  see  the  village  down  below,  and  thought 
he  could  make  out  the  very  house  he  lived  in.  He 
was  as  hungry  as  a  bear  and  his  ankle  seemed  a 
little  better,  although  it  was  still  swollen  so  much 
that  he  couldn't  get  his  shoe  on  and  he  couldn't 
step  on  the  foot. 

He  had  plenty  of  food  for  breakfast,  but  he 
didn't  know  how  many  meals  he  would  need  before 
he  could  get  away;  so  he  ate  only  a  little  and  waited, 
hoping  every  minute  that  somebody  would  come 
up  on  the  mountain  and  find  him. 

When  the  day  at  last  dragged  around  and  the 
sun  was  going  down  again  in  Hudson  River,  Bill 
knew  that  he  would  have  to  spend  another  night 
on  the  mountain  and  he  felt  pretty  bad. 

There  were  only  a  few  mouthfuls  of  food  left. 
One  bottle  of  water  was  all  gone  and  the  other 
nearly  so.  He  knew  that  by  that  time  his  folks 
would  feel  sure  that  something  had  happened  and 
would  begin  to  look  for  him.  That  was  some 
comfort. 

Far  down  below,  lights  shone  out  from  the 
houses,  one  by  one.     Down  there  was  his  home. 


Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain      131 

One  of  those  Hghts  was  shining  out  of  his  window, 
shining  for  him,  while  his  mother  sat  and  waited — 
waited  for  her  boy  who  never  would  come  back 
again. 

He  sobbed  aloud  and  stretched  out  his  hands  into 
the  darkness. 

"  Mother,  mother,"  he  whispered,  "  I  wish  I 
hadn't  come." 

When  he  awoke  in  the  morning  he  was  frightened 
to  find  that  the  little  food  which  he  had  saved  for 
his  breakfast  was  gone.  Some  animal  had  stolen 
it  in  the  night. 

His  ankle  was  still  badly  swollen  but  it  did  not 
pain  him  so  much  except  when  he  tried  to  stand 
on  it. 

He  was  hungry  and  looked  around  for  something 
that  he  could  eat.  A  little  below  the  edge  of  the 
mountain  stood  a  birch  tree.  He  dragged  himself 
down  to  it  and  cut  off  long  strips  of  the  bark.  This 
he  chewed  for  his  breakfast,  washing  it  down  with 
a  few  sips  of  water,  which  seemed  hardly  to  wet 
his  parched  throat. 

"I'll  crawl  down  to  the  spring,  if  I  can,  and  die 


132     Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain 

there,"  he  thought.  "  Maybe  they  will  find  me 
sometime." 

Then,  as  he  was  starting,  something  came  to  him. 

Smoke  signals!  Perhaps  one  of  the  Scouts 
would  see  them  and  know  what  they  meant. 

He  was  too  weak  and  lame  to  spell  out  a  mes- 
sage, like  we  did  on  Bob's  Hill.  Instead,  he  built 
two  fires,  throwing  on  grass  and  leaves  to  make 
a  thick  smoke.  There  was  no  wind  and  the  smoke 
went  straight  up.  That  was  one  of  the  signals, 
which  Mr.  Norton  had  taught  us.     It  meant : 

"  I  have  lost  the  camp.     Help." 

He  hadn't  lost  any  camp,  of  course,  but  he  didn't 
know  what  else  to  send.  He  hoped  it  would  let 
us  know  where  he  was  and  that  something  had 
happened. 

All  day  long  he  tended  his  fires,  his  ankle  aching 
horribly  because  he  had  to  move  around  so  much. 
Between  times  he  sat  on  the  mountain,  looking 
down  at  Bob's  Hill  and  Plunkett's  woods  and  the 
village  beyond,  chewing  birch  bark  and  moistening 
his  lips  v/ith  the  few  drops  of  warm  water  that 
were  left. 


Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain      133 

Late  that  afternoon  he  gave  up  and  made  up  his 
mind  that  he  would  crawl  down  to  the  spring  be- 
fore dark  and  die  there,  he  was  so  thirsty.  He 
turned  to  look  down  at  his  home,  perhaps  for  the 
last  time,  and  to  see  Bob's  Hill  once  more. 

There  were  Plunkett's  woods,  and  there,  the  twin 
stones,  like  thimbles,  they  were  so  far  away.  And 
there — what  was  that? 

From  the  ground  close  to  one  of  the  stones,  the 
one  where  we  build  our  fires,  a  great  column  of 
smoke  went  up  and  he  saw  some  things  moving 
around  it,  like  flies  or  ants,  they  looked  so  small. 
Then  the  column  of  smoke  broke  into  long  and 
short  puffs.     It  was  a  signal. 

Slowly  he  spelled  the  words: 

"I-S,  Is;  I-T,  it;  Y-O-U,  you;  B-I-L-L,  Bill?" 

Jumping  to  his  feet,  although  he  almost  screamed 
with  pain.  Bill  grabbed  his  blanket  and  held  it  down 
over  one  of  the  fires,  which  was  still  sending 
out  a  big  smoke;  then  pulled  it  off.  Again  and 
again  he  sent  up  the  puffs  of  smoke.  His  blanket 
was  blazing;  his  hands  were  burned  to  a  blister; 
he  was  almost  strangled  with  the  smoke;  but  Bill 


fi34     Smoke  Signals  on  the  Mountain 

kept  on,  until  he  had  spelled  out  something  which 
could  be  seen  from  the  top  of  Bob's  Hill,  far  below: 

....     H 

E 

—       L 

P 

Then  he  fainted  away. 


CHAPTER  IX 


FOUND   AT    LAST 


WHEN  we  saw  the  smoke  signal  on  Grey- 
lock,  the  first  thing  we  thought  of  was  to 
signal  back.     But  Skinny  said : 

"  Come  on.  He  won't  be  looking  for  us  here. 
Bob's  Hill  is  the  place.     He  can  see  us  there." 

We  started  on  a  run  across  the  fields,  getting 
more  excited  every  minute. 

"  I  don't  see  how  Bill  could  lose  any  camp,"  ex- 
claimed Benny. 

"  And  I  don't  see  what  he  is  doing  on  Greylock 
when  he  started  for  North  Adams,"  Hank  said. 

"  Maybe  it  isn't  Bill,  at  all,"  I  told  them.  "  I've 
seen  smoke  on  Greylock  more  than  once." 

"It's  Bill  all  right,"  Skinny  said.  "I  can  al- 
most hear  him.  We  don't  know  how  he  got  there, 
but  he's  there  and  he  can't  get  back.     Something 

has  happened." 

135 


'136  Found  at  Last 

"  Anyhow,  we'll  soon  find  out,"  we  all  thought, 
when  we  came  in  sight  of  the  twin  stones. 

''  I'll  run  down  home  and  get  a  blanket," 
I  told  them,  "  while  the  rest  of  you  make  a 
fire." 

Our  house  Is  right  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  and  it 
didn't  take  me  long.  The  old  horse  blanket  which 
we  used  in  signaling  was  in  the  woodshed.  I  only 
stopped  long  enough  to  wet  it  and  call  to  Ma  that 
Bill  was  up  on  Greylock  signaling. 

She  was  almost  as  excited  as  I  was. 

"  Hurry !  "  said  she.  "  Don't  wait  for  me.  I'll 
come  as  soon  as  I  can." 

I  hadn't  thought  of  waiting  for  anybody. 

She  grabbed  a  pair  of  field  glasses  off  the  shelf 
and  rushed  after  me.  I  heard  her  calling  to  Mrs. 
Blackinton  when  she  went  through  the  yard  and 
I  had  to  go  some  to  keep  ahead. 

By  the  time  we  had  climbed  the  hill,  the  boys 
had  a  big  fire  going  and  were  piling  on  green 
branches  and  leaves  to  make  it  smoke.  Then  we 
caught  hold  of  the  blanket  by  the  corners,  ready 
to  shut  off  the  smoke. 


Found  at  Last  137 

"Ask  if  it's  Bill,"  Skinny  told  us,  watching  the 
two  smokes  on  the  mountain. 

Then  we  signaled,  "  Is  it  you,  Bill  ? "  and  re- 
peated it.  Before  we  had  finished  the  second  time 
Skinny  gave  a  shout. 

"  It's  Bill,"  said  he.     "  He's  signaling." 

We  could  see  one  column  of  smoke  break  up 
into  puffs,  but  couldn't  see  very  plain  because  the 
smoke  was  so  thin  and  far  away. 

"  Here,  take  this  glass,"  said  Ma,  handing  the 
field  glass  to  Skinny. 

"  Hurrah,"  he  cried,  after  he  had  looked  through 
them.     "  I  can  see  real  good." 

Then  he  held  up  one  hand  and  we  waited  while 
he  called  off  the  letters. 

"  H-E-L-R" 

That  was  all.  We  waited  for  more  but  nothing 
came. 

Before  we  had  turned  to  go  Ma  was  halfway 
down  the  hill  and  running  to  beat  the  band.  I 
knew  that  if  Bill  didn't  get  help  it  wouldn't  be  her 
fault. 

**  See   if    you   can    get    hold   of   Mr.    Wilson,'* 


138  Found  at  Last 

she  called,  as  soon  as  we  came  in  sight.  "  I'll 
telephone  his  house.  If  you  can't  get  him, 
get  somebody.  Your  father  has  gone  to  hitch 
up  and  he  will  be  ready  to  start  in  a  few  min- 
utes." 

In  five  minutes  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  town 
knew  about  it  and  were  out  in  front  of  our  house, 
or  else  climbing  the  hill  to  see  the  smoke.  Mr. 
Wilson  came  on  a  run  and  was  in  the  wagon  before 
Pa  could  stop  the  horse. 

"  I  want  one  of  you  boys  to  go  with  us,"  said 
Pa.  "  We  may  need  some  more  signaling.  Benny 
Wade,  you  are  the  lightest.  Can  you  stand  the 
climb?" 

"  Can  I  ?  "  said  he.     "  You  watch  me." 

The  marshal  chased  up  with  a  light  stretcher  and 
another  lantern. 

"  You  can't  have  too  many,"  he  said.  "  It  will 
be  dark  before  you  get  up  there." 

Ma  came  running  out  with  a  basket  of  bread 
and  butter  and  some  meat. 

"  We'll  light  a  big  fire  on  the  mountain,  if  all 
is  well,"  they  told  her. 


Found  at  Last  139 

"  The  water !  "  called  Skinny.  "  Pedro,  get  them 
a  big  bottle." 

In  another  minute  they  were  off,  while  the  others 
went  home  to  wait,  which  is  the  hardest  part. 

I  found  out  afterward  what  happened.  They 
couldn't  drive  all  the  way  up  Greylock  from  our 
side.  There  was  a  road  from  North  Adams  and 
another  from  Cheshire  but  those  were  too  far. 

Pa  planned  to  drive  as  far  as  they  could  and 
then  to  leave  the  horse  tied  and  walk  up  the  rest 
of  the  way.  They  went  around  the  road  by  the 
Quaker  Meeting  House  to  Peck's  Falls.  From 
there  a  road  goes  part  way  up  the  mountain, 
steep  and  winding.  It  was  hard  pulling  for  the 
horse. 

I  don't  believe  Greylock  ever  was  climbed  so  fast 
before,  although  it  seemed  slow  enough  to  poor 
Bill  waiting  on  top,  thirsty  and  faint.  He  knew 
that  his  signal  had  been  seen  and  that  was  some- 
thing. 

The  first  thing  that  he  heard  was  a  call  of  a 
crow,  over  to  the  south  and  far  down  the  mountain- 
side. 


140  Found  at  Last 

"  Caw,  caw,  caw,"  came  the  sound,  and  it  seemed 
to  be  Benny's  voice. 

Bill  stood  up  on  one  foot  and  listened. 

"  Caw,  caw,  caw,"  it  came  again,  this  time  nearer. 

Then  Bill  braced  himself  and  seemed  to  grow 
stronger,  all  in  a  minute. 

''  Caw,"  he  yelled.     "  Caw,  caw!  " 

The  sound  went  floating  down  into  the  gathering 
darkness,  until  it  reached  two  men  and  a  boy,  toil- 
ing up  the  mountainside. 

"That's  Bill!"  cried  Benny. 

"  Thank  God!  "  said  Mr.  Wilson.  "  He's  alive. 
We  know  that." 

Twenty  minutes  later  he  had  Bill  in  his  arms 
and  Benny  was  building  the  biggest  fire  that  had 
been  seen  on  Greylock  since  I  could  remember. 
We  were  watching  for  it  down  below  and  knew 
that  everything  was  all  right. 

"  Now,"  said  Pa,  ''  let's  have  some  supper. 
I    don't    know    about    William,    but    I    feel    hun- 

gry." 

It  was  late  at  night  when  they  finally  brought 
Bill  home.     Mrs.  Wilson  nearly  had  a  fit  again 


Found  at  Last  141 

when  she  saw  them  carrying  him  into  the  yard  on 
a  stretcher. 

"  Speak  to  her,  son,"  said  his  father,  "  so  that 
she  will  know  you  are  alive." 

Bill  propped  himself  up  on  one  elbow  and  gave 
such  a  yell  that  it  scared  the  neighbors,  and  ended 
with  a  caw.  Then  she  knew  that  it  was  all  right 
and  felt  better. 

Skinny  was  the  proudest  fellow  you  ever  saw 
because  we  had  found  Bill.  It  made  him  real 
chesty  and  we  all  felt  good  about  it. 

"  Say,  we're  the  stuff,"  said  he.  "If  you  don't 
believe  it,  watch  our  smoke.  That's  all  I've  got  to 
say.  Hurry  up  and  get  well,  Bill,  so  we  can  have 
a  meeting  and  tell  about  our  hikes.  I  want  to  see 
a  First  Class  Scout  badge  on  my  manly  bosom." 

We  were  sitting  in  Bill's  house  at  the  time,  to 
cheer  him  up  a  little  because  he  couldn't  go  out 
without  a  crutch. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  having  the  meeting 
here?"  said  Bill.  "I  don't  suppose  Mr.  Norton 
will  give  me  a  badge  because  I  haven't  delivered 
his  meesage  yet,  but  I'd  like  to  hear  what  the  rest 


142  Found  at  Last 

of  you  did.  I  can't  get  out  for  a  few  days.  When 
I  do,  I'm  going  to  North  Adams  and  back,  if  it 
takes  a  whole  leg.     Believe  me." 

"  You  did  more  than  any  of  us,"  Benny  told  him, 
"  badge  or  no  badge," 

"  I  guess  you  won't  chase  over  the  mountain  the 
next  time,"  I  said.  "  When  you  stick  to  the  roads 
there  don't  anything  happen." 

"  Oh,  there  don't,  don't  they  ? "  exclaimed 
Skinny.  "  Say,  you  fellers  ought  to  have  been  with 
me.  There  was  something  doing  every  minute. 
Ma  says  it's  a  wonder  that  I'm  alive.  I've  had 
awfully  hard  work  to  keep  from  telling  about  it." 

"  Tell  us  about  it  now." 

"  Not  much,  you  wouldn't  be  able  to  sleep  to- 
night.    Besides,  it  might  make  Bill's  ankle  worse." 

"  Great  snakes !  "  said  Bill.  "  There  ain't  any- 
thing the  matter  with  me,  only  it  hurts  me  to  step 
on  my  foot.     Come  on.  Skinny.     Let's  have  it." 

"  No-p.     We've  got  to  have  a  meetin'  first." 

"  Suppose  that  you  have  your  meeting  here  to- 
night," said  Mrs.  Wilson,  who  had  come  into  the 
room  in  time  to  hear  what  we  were  talking  about. 


Found  at  Last  143 

Willie  is  a  great  deal  better  and  I  can  have  him 
take  a  nap  to  brace  him  for  the  story.  If  you  boys 
will  come  around  after  supper  you  can  meet  right 
in  this  room,  and  perhaps,  I  don't  say  for  sure, 
perhaps  the  neighbors  will  bring  in  some  ice  cream 
to  quiet  your  nerves  and  make  you  sleep." 

"May  we  bring  Mr.  Norton?"  I  asked.  "He 
is  our  Scoutmaster  and  he  ought  to  be  with  us  when 
we  tell  about  the  doings  of  the  patrol." 

"  Surely  you  can.  He  is  coming,  anyway.  He 
sent  word  this  morning  that  he  would  call  to- 
night." 

We  met  at  Skinny's  a  little  before  eight  o'clock 
and  went  over  in  a  bunch.  On  the  way  Skinny  told 
us  what  to  do. 

"  When  we  get  to  the  gate,"  said  he,  "  let's  stop 
and  each  one  caw  three  times." 

"What  for?"  I  asked.  "We  know  that  he  is 
there;  don't  we?  Besides  Bill  is  sick.  Maybe 
we'd  better  keep  quiet." 

"  Sick  nothin' !  He  ain't  any  more  sick  than  I 
am.  He  said  so  himself.  He's  hurt  his  ankle  a 
little,  that's  all.     Ankles  can't  hear,  can  they  ?  " 


144  Found  at  Last 

"  Maybe  it  will  cheer  him  up  to  hear  us,"  I  told 
him.  "  He  can't  get  out,  you  know.  It  is  hard 
to  be  cooped  up  in  the  house  that  way,  and  Fourth 
of  July  coming." 

"  Anyhow,"  said  Benny,  "  let's  not  all  caw  at 
once.  We  can  take  turns  and  it  will  not  make  so 
much  noise." 

That  was  what  we  did,  standing  just  out- 
side the  gate,  where  we  could  see  a  light 
streaming  through  an  open  window  in  Bill's 
room. 

Skinny  led  off  with  three.  I  followed,  and  the 
others  in  turn,  ending  with  Benny.  Skinny  said 
that  it  sounded  like  the  booming  of  minute  guns 
in  some  battle  or  other,  that  he  read  about  in  a 
book. 

Say,  it  surprised  the  folks  living  around  there. 
Before  we  were  half  through,  they  came  running 
out  of  their  houses  to  see  what  was  going  on.  It 
made  us  feel  proud  and  we  were  just  going  to  do 
it  over  again,  when  we  heard  Bill  cawing  in  the 
house  and  Mrs.  Wilson  threw  the  door  open  and 
stood  there  laughing. 


Found  at  Last  145 

**  I  judge  by  the  sound,"  said  she,  "  that  the 
Ravens  have  arrived  and  are  in  good  voice." 

We  found  Bill  sitting  in  a  big  chair,  with  his 
foot  propped  up  and  his  eyes  shining. 

At  first  we  didn't  know  just  how  to  act,  until 
in  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Norton  came  and  then  Mrs. 
Wilson  brought  in  some  ice  cream  and  some  clusters 
of  strawberries,  with  dishes  of  powdered  sugar 
to  dip  them  into. 

We  knew  how  to  act  then,  all  right,  and  for  a 
few  minutes  we  were  too  busy  to  talk. 

I  am  not  going  to  tell  what  all  the  Scouts  did 
on  that  hike.  I  already  have  told  what  happened 
to  some  of  us.  There  didn't  much  happen  to  most 
of  them,  anyhow,  any  more  than  there  did  to  me. 
It  was  different  with  Skinny.  Something  almost 
always  happened  to  him. 


CHAPTER  X 

A    MAIDEN    IN    DISTRESS 

«  "W-y  ELLERS,"  Skinny  had  told  us,  when  we 

j^  were  getting  ready  to  start  on  the  hike, 
"  you  always  ought  to  carry  a  rope.  Something 
happens  every  time  when  you  don't  have  a  rope 
along." 

"  It  happens  when  you  do,"  Benny  said,  "  Any- 
how, a  rope  is  too  much  bother.  A  blanket  and  a 
frying  pan  and  things  like  that  are  all  I  want  to 
carry." 

"  A  rope  is  the  thing,  just  the  same.  Didn't  I 
lasso  the  robber  last  summer  out  on  Illinois  River, 
at  Starved  Rock?  How  could  I  lasso  anything 
without  a  rope?  And  didn't  we  let  you  down  into 
Horseshoe  Canyon  with  a  rope  and  pull  Alice 
What's-her-name  up  again  ?  " 

"  Bet  your  hfe  we  did,"  Bill  put  in.     "  You  need 

a  rope  when  you  are  camping  out  or  are  in  a  boat 

146 


A  Maiden  in  Distress  147 

on  the  river,  but  what  good  is  it  in  walking  seven 
miles?" 

"Maybe  it  is  and  maybe  it  isn't;  but,  just  the 
same,  you'll  be  sorry  if  you  don't  take  one  along." 

He  was  right,  too,  for  Bill  told  us  afterward 
that  he  would  have  given  a  good  deal  for  a  rope 
when  he  was  sitting  on  top  of  Greylock.  He  didn't 
need  it  for  anything,  only,  he  said,  it  would  have 
been  sort  of  company  for  him. 

Skinny  was  bound  to  carry  a  rope.  When  he 
marched  down  Center  Street  with  it  coiled  around 
his  shoulders,  over  his  blanket,  and  w'ith  his  toma- 
hawk in  his  belt,  people  ran  out  of  the  stores  to 
look  at  him. 

The  road  that  he  took  is  uphill  a  good  part  of 
the  way.  It  goes  up  through  the  foothills  of  the 
east  mountain  and  isn't  easy  walking.  We  slide 
down  that  road  sometimes  in  winter.  When  the 
coasting  is  good  we  can  slide  nearly  a  mile,  clear 
into  the  village;  then  hitch  on  to  a  bob  and  ride 
back  again  for  another. 

There  were  no  bobs  for  Skinny.  It  was  warm 
in  the  sun  and  he  loafed  along,  taking  it  easy  and 


148  A  Maiden  in  Distress 

looking  for  somebody  to  rescue.  Once  he  stopped 
to  help  a  man  in  a  field.  Along  about  ten  or  eleven 
o'clock  he  began  to  get  hungry  and  tired.  No  mat- 
ter where  he  looked  there  didn't  anything  happen, 
so  he  made  up  his  mind  to  take  a  long  rest  the 
next  time  he  came  to  some  good  shade,  and  maybe 
to  cook  his  dinner. 

A  half-mile  farther  on  he  came  to  a  real  shady 
spot  by  the  roadside,  under  a  tree  which  stood  in 
a  corner  of  a  pasture  on  the  other  side  of  a  fence. 
A  tiny  stream  crossed  the  road,  and  ran  down 
through  the  pasture. 

This  was  the  place  he  had  been  looking  for  and, 
after  drinking,  he  threw  himself  down  on  the 
ground  and  went  to  sleep. 

He  didn't  know  how  long  he  slept  but  he  felt 
first  rate  when  he  woke  up,  only  hungrier  than  ever. 
Over  in  the  pasture  stood  a  cow  with  her  back  to 
him,  looking  at  something  and  growing  real  excited 
about  it. 

"  I  wonder  what  ails  the  critter,"  said  Skinny 
to  himself.  "  She  looks  mad  about  something, 
snorting  and  shaking  her  head  that  way." 


A  Maiden  in  Distress  149 

Just  then  he  heard  a  girl's  voice  singing.  She 
sang  real  loud,  like  boys  whistle  sometimes  to  keep 
up  their  courage,  when  they  are  half  scared.  Then 
in  a  few  minutes  she  came  in  sight,  walking  across 
the  pasture  and  keeping  one  eye  on  the  cow. 

Skinny  hadn't  seen  her  before  because  the  cow 
had  stood  in  the  way. 

"Jerusalem!"  said  he.  "Here's  luck.  She's 
got  a  fire-red  sunbonnet  and  cows  don't  like  red 
sunbonnets  a  little  bit." 

On  came  the  girl,  singing  louder  than  ever,  try- 
ing to  edge  off  away  from  the  cow  but  not  daring 
to  run. 

Skinny  could  see  that  the  cow  was  getting  mad- 
der all  the  time.  He  knew  that  something  was 
going  to  happen  at  last,  and  he  began  to  uncoil  his 
rope. 

"  Run,  you  little  fool,"  said  he.     "  Run." 

He  meant  the  girl  and  not  the  cow.  He  said  it 
under  his  breath  so  she  wouldn't  hear,  for  be  didn't 
want  to  lose  the  chance  to  do  the  rescue  act  and 
have  something  to  tell  us  boys  about  afterward. 

The  girl  was  scared.     Any  one  with  half  an  eye 


150  A  Maiden  in  Distress 

could  have  seen  that.  The  cow  hadn't  quite  made 
up  its  mind  what  to  do,  and  Skinny  was  beginning 
to  be  afraid  that  the  girl  would  get  across  without 
giving  him  a  chance  to  get  in  his  work.  Then  what 
did  she  do  but  take  off  her  sunbonnet  and  swing 
it  around  by  one  string,  just  to  let  the  cow  know 
that  she  wasn't  afraid  of  any  animal  that  walked 
on  four  legs. 

She  hadn't  seen  Skinny  yet,  on  account  of  his 
being  back  of  the  cow.  The  cow  didn't  know  he 
was  there,  either,  until  about  four  seconds  after- 
ward.    It  knew  then,  all  right. 

Maybe  the  cow  wasn't  mad  when  she  saw  that 
red  sunbonnet  whirling  around  in  the  air.  She  tore 
up  the  sod  with  her  horns,  gave  a  big  snort,  and 
started,  head  down. 

Say,  it  was  Skinny's  busy  day  about  that  time. 
Before  the  cow  could  get  fairly  going  he  had 
crawled  under  the  fence  and  run  up  behind,  whirl- 
ing his  lasso  around  his  head.  Then  he  gave  a 
yell  like  a  wild  Indian  and  threw  it. 

I  think  the  yell  scared  the  girl  worse  than  the 
cow  did.     Anyhow,  between  the  cow  and  the  Indian 


A  Maiden  in  Distress  151 

she  was  scared  stiff;  just  stood  there  paralyzed. 
And  she  didn't  do  any  more  singing. 

If  that  lasso  had  caught  there  would  have  been 
a  paralyzed  cow  all  right.  Skinny  threw  it  in  great 
shape.  It  went  straight  for  her  horns,  but  when 
he  yelled  she  lifted  her  head  suddenly.  The  loop 
struck  against  one  of  the  horns,  instead  of  going 
over  it,  and  then  fell  off  to  the  ground. 

"  Gee !  "  groaned  Skinny.     "  Missed !  " 

There  wasn't  time  to  say  anything  more,  and 
he  knew  that  he  would  have  to  get  mighty  busy 
or  there  wouldn't  be  any  rescuing  done. 

When  something  happens  that  way  and  you  have 
to  do  something  first  and  think  about  it  afterward, 
the  mind  seems  to  work  like  chain  lightning.  There 
was  only  one  thing  to  do  and  it  didn't  take  Skinny 
long  to  do  that.  He  dropped  the  rope,  grabbed 
hold  of  the  cow's  tail  with  both  hands,  and  dug 
his  feet  into  the  ground. 

"Run!"  he  yelled.  "Run  for  the  fence!  I've 
got  her." 

When  Bill  heard  about  it  he  said  that  it  seemed  to 
him  as  if  the  cow  had  Skinny.     Anyhow,  she  was 


152  A  Maiden  in  Distress 

surprised  some  and  she  was  mad.  She  will  think 
twice  next  time  before  she  does  any  chasing,  when 
anybody  from  Raven  Patrol  is  around,  I  guess. 

Skinny  had  a  good  hold  and  she  couldn't  get 
away.  First  she  stopped  running  and  tried  to  get 
at  whatever  it  was  back  of  her,  with  her  horns, 
chasing  herself  around  in  a  circle. 

Skinny  hung  on  like  a  good  fellow.  He  had  to. 
If  he  had  let  go  once  it  would  have  been  all  up 
with  him.  She  never  touched  him.  Every  time 
the  cow  stopped,  there  was  a  hundred  pounds  of 
boy  hanging  to  the  end  of  her  tail. 

It  was  like  playing  crack  the  whip,  he  told  us 
afterward,  **  and  being  the  littlest  fellow  on  the  tail 
end." 

Then  for  a  few  moments  it  was  hard  to  tell 
which  was  the  cow  and  which  was  Skinny,  for 
she  started  on  a  run  for  the  other  side  of  the 
pasture,  Skinny  sliding  and  bumping  behind,  and 
both  of  them  scared  half  to  death.  Skinny  was 
so  excited  he  couldn't  think  to  let  go  of  the 
tail. 

Hank  said  that  he  would  have  given  a  quarter 


A  Maiden  in  Distress  153 

if  he  could  have  taken  a  picture  of  it  with  his 
camera. 

All  this  didn't  take  so  long  as  it  does  to  tell 
about  it.  The  girl  had  reached  the  fence,  crawled 
under,  and  was  yelling  for  help. 

Just  then  it  seemed  to  Skinny  as  if  the  tail  had 
come  off  in  his  hands,  for  he  went  tumbling  along, 
heels  over  head,  until  he  struck  with  a  jar  that 
almost  loosened  his  teeth. 

What  really  happened  was  that  he  stumbled  on 
a  stone  and  his  hands  were  jerked  loose.  In  an- 
other minute  the  cow  was  out  of  sight  in  a  hollow. 
Skinny  scrambled  to  his  feet  and  went  back  after 
the  rope,  trying  not  to  limp  because  he  could  see 
the  girl  looking  at  him  through  the  fence. 

He  felt  pretty  chesty  to  think  that  he  had  rescued 
a  maiden,  only  he  didn't  know  what  to  do  with  her, 
now  that  he  had  saved  her. 

She  spoke  first,  as  he  stood  there  sort  of  brushing 
his  clothes  off. 

"  Are  you  hurt,  boy  ?  " 

"What,  me?"  said  Skinny.  "Me  hurt?  Say, 
didn't  you  see  the  critter  run  when  I  got  after  her  ?  " 


154  ^  Maiden  in  Distress 

"  I  should  say  I  did,  only  I  was  scared.  Wasn't 
you  scared  ?  " 

"  I  don't  scare  worth  a  cent,"  he  told  her.  "  I 
ain't  afraid  of  any  cow  a-livin'.  You  don't  sup- 
pose I'd  'a'  chased  her  all  over  the  pasture,  if  I'd 
been  scared,  do  you?" 

-N-no,  but—" 

"  Say,  if  my  lasso  hadn't  slipped,  there  would 
have  been  something  doing.  It's  lucky  for  you  that 
I  got  hold  of  her  tail.  That's  the  way  to  do  it. 
When  you  twist  a  cow's  tail,  it  scares  'em." 

It's  just  as  Hank  says,  you  never  can  tell  what 
a  girl  will  do.  That  girl  tried  to  say  something; 
then  choked  up  and  went  off  into  a  fit  of  laughing 
that  made  the  tears  roll  down  her  cheeks  and  left 
her  so  weak  that  she  had  to  hang  on  to  the  fence. 

Skinny  grinned  a  little  to  be  polite,  but  he  didn't 
like  it  very  well. 

"  Oh,"  said  she,  as  soon  as  she  could  speak,  "  it 
was  too — too  funny  for  anything  to  see  you  sailing 
along  behind  the  cow." 

"  It  wouldn't  have  been  so  funny  if  the  cow  had 
been  running  toward  you,  instead  of  away  from 


A  Maiden  in  Distress  155 

you.  You  would  have  laughed  out  of  the  other 
side  of  your  mouth,  I  guess." 

She  saw  that  he  was  mad  about  it. 

"  You  mustn't  mind  my  laughing,"  said  she, 
stuffing  her  handkerchief  into  her  mouth.  "  I  can't 
help  it.     It's  a  disease." 

"A  disease?" 

"  Yes,  it's  high  strikes.  When  folks  have  them 
they  can't  stop  laughing.  They  laugh  when  they 
ought  to  cry,  maybe." 

"  Sounds  hke  a  ball  game,"  said  Skinny. 

"  It's  something  like  that,"  she  told  him.  "  May- 
be that  isn't  it  exactly  but  it's  something.  I'm 
better  now." 

"  Oh,  well,  if  it's  something  that  ails  you,  I  sup- 
pose it's  all  right.  I'd  laugh,  too,  only  I  am  all 
out  of  breath  from  chasing  the  cow." 

When  he  said  that  the  girl  burst  out  laughing 
again,  and  Skinny  laughed  with  her.  That  made 
them  feel  acquainted. 

"  I  guess  I've  got  'em,  too,"  said  he.  "  They 
must  be  catching.     Well,  I  must  be  going  now." 

"  My  name  is  Mary  Richmond,"  she  told  him 


156  A  Maiden  in  Distress 

"  I  live  in  Holyoke  and  I  am  visiting  over  where 
you  see  that  red  barn." 

"  Mine  is  Gabriel  Miller,  I  don't  like  the  name 
veiy  well.  Gabe  isn't  so  bad.  The  boys  call  me 
Skinny.  I  live  down  in  the  village  and  I  am  on 
a  hike.     I  guess  I'd  better  be  going  now." 

"  I  don't  see  any." 

"Any  what?" 

"  What  you  said  you  were  on,  a  hike." 

"  You  will  see  one  in  about  a  minute.  I  am  out 
for  a  long  walk.  I  belong  to  the  Boy  Scouts  and 
I've  got  to  walk  seven  miles,  camp  out  to-night, 
and  come  back  to-morrow." 

"  My,"  said  she,  "  you  must  be  hungry — all  that 
walking  and — and — chasing  the  cow,  too." 

"  I  am,"  said  Skinny,  bracing  up.  "  I  believe  I'll 
eat  my  lunch  right  here  in  the  shade.  Wish  you'd 
stay  and  eat  with  me.     I  can  cook  some  bacon." 

Wasn't  that  a  nervy  thing  to  say?  Skinny  is 
brave  when  he  gets  started. 

"  It  would  be  fine,"  she  told  him,  "  only  Ma  is 
expecting  me  at  the  house.  She  is  visiting,  too. 
Wouldn't  it  be  nicer  for  you  to  come  with  me? 


A  Maiden  in  Distress  157 

They  will  be  glad  to  see  you  because  you  saved 
me  from  the  cow.  I  am  awfully  hungry  and 
Grandma  is  the  best  cook.  We're  going  to  have 
lemonade.     She  told  me  so.     Come  on,  do." 

"  Lemonade  would  taste  good,"  he  said,  "  if  I 
only  dast." 

"  Huh !  "  said  she,  tossing  her  head.  "  I  thought 
that  you  were  not  afraid  of  anything." 

"  I  ain't  of  a  cow.  This  is  different.  Say,  that 
was  a  swell  song  you  were  singing.  I  wish  I  knew 
it." 

"  I'll  teach  it  to  you  after  dinner,  if  you  will 
come.     If  you  don't  you're  a  'fraid  cat." 

"  All  right.     I'll  go  if  it  kills  me." 

Skinny  says  that  he  never  ate  a  dinner  that 
tasted  any  better  than  that  one  did.  Mrs.  Rich- 
mond was  scared  when  she  heard  about  the  cow 
and  she  couldn't  say  enough  about  how  he  had 
saved  her  little  girl  from  a  terrible  death. 

"  That  wasn't  anything,"  he  told  her.  "  Scouts 
are  always  doing  those  things,  I'm  going  to  try 
to  save  somebody  from  drowning  when  I  come 
back  along  the  river  to-morrow." 


158  A  Maiden  in  Distress 

"  I'll  tell  you  a  better  stunt  than  that,"  said 
Mary's  grandfather,  winking  one  eye  at  the  rest 
of  the  folks.  "  Why  don't  you  go  up  to  Savoy  on 
the  east  mountain.  That  would  make  a  walk  of 
about  seven  miles  from  the  village.  You  won't 
find  anybody  drowning  up  there,  but  several  deer 
have  been  seen  around  there  lately." 

"  Gee !  "  said  Skinny,  his  eyes  sticking  out  when 
he  thought  of  the  deer.     "  If  I  only  had  a  gun!  " 

"  It's  against  Massachusetts  law  to  shoot  deer. 
That's  why  they  are  getting  so  common.  You 
have  your  rope.  Maybe  you  can  lasso  one.  There 
is  no  law  against  that,  I  guess." 

"  I'll  do  it,"  Skinny  told  him.  "  Bet  your  life 
the  boys  will  be  surprised  when  they  see  me  bring- 
ing home  a  deer.  Maybe  I'll  get  two  or  three. 
Mr.  Norton  didn't  give  me  a  message  to  anybody, 
so  it  won't  make  any  difference  which  way  I 
go. 

"  Don't  get  too  many.  We'd  like  to  save  a  few. 
And  be  careful  that  some  bear  doesn't  get  you," 
went  on  Mr.  Richmond,  laughing  to  see  how  excited 
Skinny  was.     "  They  are  not  very  common,  but 


A  Maiden  in  Distress  159 

once  in   a   while   one   is   seen   on   the   mountain." 

"How  do  you  get  up  there?" 

"  Go  back  to  Pumpkin  Hook.  It  isn't  far,  and 
then  follow  the  road  which  turns  east.  It  will  take 
you  right  to  Savoy.  You  will  find  a  pretty  good 
road  all  the  way,  and  you  won't  have  any  more 
trouble  than  you  would  going  to  Cheshire — unless," 
he  added  in  a  fierce  voice  that  made  Skinny  jump, 
"  unless  A  BEAR  GETS  YOU!  " 

"  Nov/,  father,  don't  scare  the  boy  to  death," 
said  Mary's  mother.  "  You  know  well  enough 
there  are  no  bears  and  the  road  to  Savoy  is  a  well- 
traveled  one." 

"Of  course  it  is,  or  I  shouldn't  have  suggested 
his  going  there.  But  there  have  been  bears  seen 
on  the  Savoy  Mountain.  I  saw  one  myself,  last 
year." 

"Huh!  I  ain't  afraid  of  no  bear,"  put  in 
Skinny,  drawing  himself  up  and  looking  fierce. 
"  I  tracked  one  once  on  Bob's  Hill.  It  went  up  to 
Peck's  Falls  and  hid  in  our  cave.  We  smoked  it 
out.  I  didn't  have  a  gun  or  knife  or  anything,  but 
I  hit  it  with  a  snowball." 


i6o  A  Maiden  in  Distress 

You  could  have  hung  a  hat  on  Mary's  eyes  when 
Skinny  told  them  that. 

"Was  it  a  really  and  truly  bear?"  she  asked. 
"  And  did  it  stand  on  its  hind  legs  like  in  the  circus 
pictures  over  at  the  Hook?" 

"  It  stood  on  its  hind  legs,  all  right,"  he  told 
her,  "  but  it  wasn't  really  a  bear.  We  thought  it 
was.  It  made  tracks  in  the  snow  just  like  bear's 
tracks,  but  when  we  had  smoked  it  out  we  found 
that  it  wasn't  anything  but  a  man." 

"  It  was  Jake  Yost,  a  foolish  feller,"  he  explained, 
turning  to  Mr,  Richmond.  "  He  had  his  boots  on 
the  wrong  feet  and  wouldn't  change  them  back  for 
fear  of  changing  his  luck.  That  was  what  made 
his  tracks  look  like  bear's  tracks." 

It  tickled  them  to  hear  about  that,  but  it  didn't 
tickle  us  boys  much  when  it  happened.  It  was  too 
scary. 

"If  you  will  stop  here  on  your  way  back  to- 
morrow," said  Mary's  grandma,  "  we'll  give  you 
a  nice  dinner.  I  think  you  will  be  wanting  one 
about  that  time.  Mary  may  walk  with  you  as  far 
as  the  Hook,  if  you  like,  and  show  you  the  road." 


A  Maiden  in  Distress  i6ii 

"  I  think  maybe  I'd  better  go  along,  too,  with 
my  gun,"  said  Mr.  Richmond,  "  on  account  of  the 
bears." 

"  Don't  you  mind  his  nonsense,"  she  said.  *'  You 
run  along." 

So  off  they  went  together.  Skinny  with  his  rope 
and  tomahawk  and  Mary  with  her  red  sunbonnet, 
but  they  kept  away  from  the  pasture. 

From  Pumpkin  Hook  Skinny  went  on  alone,  up 
the  mountain  road,  whirling  his  tomahawk  around 
his  head  and  every  little  while  pretending  to  lasso 
the  enemy,  because  he  knew  that  Mary  was  watch- 
ing him  from  below. 

Then  pretty  soon  he  came  to  a  bend  in  the  road. 
He  turned  and  waved  to  her,  and  in  a  minute  was 
out  of  sight 


CHAPTER  XI 


TREED  BY  A  BEAR 


I  AM  writing  what  happened  to  Skinny  as  if 
we  found  out  all  about  it  at  once,  which  we 
didn't.  He  told  us  some  of  it  the  first  time,  with 
Bill  sitting  up  and  listening  and  Mr.  Norton  asking 
questions  whenever  Skinny  began  to  run  down. 
But  every  time  we  saw  him  after  that  for  several 
days  he  would  think  of  something  more  to  tell,  or 
something  a  little  different,  so  that  it  took  a  long 
time  before  we  felt  sure  that  we  knew  all  about  it. 
For  instance,  he  didn't  say  much  at  first  about 
Mary  Richmond,  the  Holyoke  girl,  except  the  res- 
cue part.  He  was  afraid  that  the  boys  would  make 
fun  of  him  for  walking  down  the  mountain  with 
a  girl — ^but  I  haven't  told  about  that  yet.  I  am 
going  to  put  everything  in  just  when  it  happened, 
so  that  you  can  understand  it  better. 

There   didn't   much   happen,   anyhow,   while  he 
162 


Treed  by  a  Bear  163 

was  going  up  to  Savoy.  The  road  was  steep  and 
winding,  and  climbing  it  kept  Skinny  busy  and 
made  him  wish  more  than  once  that  he  had  gone 
in  some  other  direction. 

What  Mr.  Richmond  had  said  about  bears  made 
him  nervous.  Every  time  he  saw  a  stump  of  a 
tree,  he  was  sure  it  was  a  bear,  and  every  time  he 
came  to  a  part  of  the  woods  where  the  trees  stood 
very  close  together  and  it  looked  dark  inside,  he 
had  to  whistle  and  sing  louder  than  Mary  did  when 
she  was  afraid  of  the  cow. 

Whenever  he  felt  real  scared  he  would  caw  like 
a  crow,  and  that  made  him  feel  almost  brave  again, 
for  sometimes  when  you  just  pretend  you  are  brave 
and  act  as  if  you  are,  all  of  a  sudden  you  get  brave. 
I  don't  know  why  it  is  but  I  have  noticed  it. 

He  kept  a  sharp  eye  out  for  deer,  for  he  wanted 
to  bring  us  one,  but  he  didn't  see  a  thing  all  the 
way  up  that  looked  like  a  wild  animal  except  a 
calf,  which  ran  when  he  threw  a  stick  at  it,  and  the 
birds,  which  don't  count. 

It  was  hot  work  but  the  air  was  fine,  and  he 
could  see  all  up  and  down  Hoosac  Valley,  and  that 


164  Treed  by  a  Bear 

is  worth  seeing  any  time.  If  he  had  taken  a  spy- 
glass with  him,  perhaps  he  could  have  seen  the 
other  Scouts  on  the  way  to  North  Adams  and 
Cheshire. 

Once  in  a  while  he  came  to  a  mountain  brook, 
gurgling  and  singing  over  the  stones.  Then  he 
would  throw  himself  down  to  rest  and  listen  to 
the  pouring  water,  which  we  boys  think  is  the 
sweetest  music  in  all  the  world,  unless  it  is  the 
cawing  of  a  crow  away  off  somewhere,  on  the 
mountainside. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  he  came  to  Savoy  and 
stopped  in  a  field  to  cook  himself  a  good  supper. 

That  night  he  slept  in  a  barn,  cuddling  down  in 
the  haymow,  where  he  could  hear  some  horses 
stirring  in  their  stalls.  They  seemed  sort  of  like 
company  for  him,  although  they  couldn't  talk 
any. 

"Were  you  not  afraid  up  there,  all  alone?"  Mr. 
Norton  asked,  when  Skinny  was  telling  about  the 
horses. 

"What,  me?"  said  he.  "Anyhow,  I  wouldn't 
have  been,  only  there  were  all  kinds  of  noises  in 


Treed  by  a  Bear  165 

the  night  and  once  I  heard  something  scratching  at 
the  door.  I  think  it  was  a  bear;  maybe,  two 
bears." 

"  Great  snakes !  "  said  Bill,  and  we  all  thought 
so,  too.  But  Skinny  waved  one  hand,  as  if  that 
wasn't  anything  worth  mentioning,  and  went  on. 

When  morning  finally  came  and  the  sun  shone 
in  through  a  cobwebby  window  across  the  haymow 
he  slipped  out  of  the  barn  on  the  side  away  from 
the  house,  so  that  the  folks  wouldn't  see  him. 

Just  the  same,  they  saw  him  cooking  his  break- 
fast, and  were  going  to  set  the  dog  on  him.  But 
when  the  farmer's  wife  found  out  that  it  was  a 
Boy  Scout  and  not  a  tramp  she  told  him  to  come 
right  into  the  house  and  eat  with  them.  He  went, 
too,  because  he  could  smell  the  breakfast  cooking 
and  it  'most  made  him  crazy. 

"  How  about  it,  Mr.  Norton?  "  said  Bill.  "  That 
makes  two  meals  Skinny  had  given  to  him,  not 
counting  the  dinner  at  Richmond's  the  next  day, 
which  he  hasn't  told  about  yet.  That  makes  three. 
Didn't  he  have  to  cook  them  himself  on  account  of 
the  Scout  business  ?  " 


i66  Treed  by  a  Bear 

Before  Mr.  Norton  could  answer  Skinny  spoke 
up. 

"  Aw,  g'wan !  "  said  he.  "  I  cooked  enough  to 
make  up  for  it,  I  guess.  Why,  I  stopped  two  or 
three  times  and  cooked  something.  You  don't  sup- 
pose a  feller  can  climb  mountains  without  eatin', 
do  you  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  eat  much,"  said  Bill  with  a  grin,  "  but 
I  wanted  to." 

"  I  think  Gabriel  is  right,"  laughed  Mr.  Norton. 
"  Besides  it  sometimes  Is  harder  to  work  folks  for 
a  meal  than  it  is  to  cook  it,  yourself." 

"  Anyhow,"  Skinny  told  him,  "  I  didn't  get  to 
Richmond's  in  time  for  that  dinner  and  I  paid  for 
those  other  meals.  I  rescued  the  girl  the  first  time, 
didn't  I?  That  ought  to  be  good  for  a  dinner. 
And  to  pay  for  my  breakfast  I  carried  in  a  lot  of 
wood  for  the  farmer's  wife.  She  liked  it  so  well 
that  she  said  she  would  be  glad  to  have  me  stay 
to  dinner.  There  wasn't  any  chance  to  do  any 
rescuing  in  Savoy,  so  I  had  to  do  something 
else." 

"  That's    business ! "     exclaimed     Mr.     Norton. 


Treed  by  a  Bear  167 

"  Pay  as  you  go.  Gabriel,  my  boy,  you  showed 
yourself  a  true  Scout  and  I'm  proud  of  you." 

He  reached  over  and  fastened  a  First  Class  Scout 
badge  to  Skinny's  coat. 

"  Maybe  I  am  a  little  ahead  of  the  game,"  said 
he,  "  but  Gabriel  is  leader  and  I  think  that  he  has 
earned  a  badge.  This  seems  to  be  the  psychological 
moment  to  present  it." 

Benny  spoke  up  before  we  could  stop  him. 

"  What's  a  skological  moment  ?  "  said  he. 

Say,  that  stumped  Mr.  Norton.  He  couldn't 
tell  us. 

"  I'd  like  very  much  to  give  you  one,  William," 
he  went  on,  after  a  little,  turning  to  Bill.  "  You 
showed  yourself  a  hero  and  you  have  done  every- 
thing except  the  hike.  How  would  it  do  to  give 
you  the  badge  now,  with  the  understanding  that 
you  will  make  good  on  the  hike  later,  when  you 
get  well  ?  " 

Skinny  swelled  all  up  when  Mr.  Norton  gave 
him  the  badge,  and  I  guess  anybody  would.  He 
didn't  know  what  to  do  or  say  at  first,  but  in  a 
minute  he  came  to  his  senses.     He  jumped  to  his 


i68  Treed  by  a  Bear 

feet  and  gave  the  Scout  salute.     It  was  great  to 
see  him. 

"  Fellers,"  said  he,  turning  to  us  with  his  arms 
folded,  while  Mr.  Norton  looked  on,  wondering 
what  was  going  to  happen. 

"  Who  are  going  to  be  the  best  Boy  Scouts  in 
America,  or  England,  either?" 

"  We  are !  "  we  shouted. 

"  Who  is  the  best  Scoutmaster  that  ever  hap- 
pened ?  " 

"  Mr.  Norton !  "  we  yelled. 

"  Who  is  great  stuff,  if  he  did  sprain  his  ankle 
on  Greylock  ?  " 

"Bill  Wilson!" 

"  'Tis  well.     Everybody  caw.     Now !  " 

There  was  some  racket  around  that  room  when 
we  turned  ourselves  loose.  Bill  sat  there  smiling 
and  with  his  face  all  flushed  up,  he  was  so  tickled 
over  what  Mr.  Norton  and  Skinny  had  said. 

Then  Mr,  Norton  pulled  another  badge  out  of 
his  pocket  and  started  to  pin  it  on  Bill's  clothes. 
Bill  stopped  him. 

"  It  wouldn't  be  fair,  Mr.  Norton,"  said  he.     "  I 


Treed  by  a  Bear  169 

started  out  to  do  my  hike  and  I  didn't  do  it.  I 
know  that  I  did  something  which  was  harder  but 
I  didn't  do  that.  I  wouldn't  feel  right  about  wear- 
ing the  badge  until  after  I  had  made  good." 

"What  do  you  say,  boys?"  asked  Mr.  Norton, 
his  eyes  shining  because  he  was  so  proud  of  Bill. 

"Bill's  all  right,"  said  Hank.  "We  all  know 
that  he  can  do  the  stunt  and  that  he  will  do  it, 
but  he  hasn't  done  it  yet." 

Then  Benny  spoke  up. 

"  Guess  what !  "  said  he.  "  Let's  all  wait  until 
Bill  gets  well  and  does  it,  before  getting  our  badges. 
Except  Skinny;  he's  got  his." 

"  Bet  your  life  I'll  wait,  too,"  said  Skinny. 

He  started  to  take  the  badge  off,  but  we  wouldn't 
let  him, 

"  Forget  it,"  said  Bill,  "  and  go  on  with  the 
story.  You  stopped  in  an  interesting  place.  I 
don't  believe  much  happened,  anyhow,  except  the 
cow,  and  you've  told  us  about  that." 

"  I  don't  like  to  tell  the  rest.  It  will  make  you 
walk  in  your  sleep  and  that  will  hurt  your  foot 
But  I'm  willing  to  risk  it  if  you  are." 


170  Treed  by  a  Bear 

You  see,  when  Skinny  started  toward  home  from 
Savoy,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  lasso 
a  deer,  or  know  the  reason  why,  because  it  would 
look  fine  to  have  one  stuffed  and  standing  in  front 
of  our  cave  at  Peck's  Falls.  So,  when  he  had 
found  a  place  that  looked  wild  and  sort  of  scary, 
he  left  the  road  and,  getting  his  rope  in  shape  to 
throw,  made  his  way  in  through  the  brush,  as 
still  as  he  could,  so  as  not  to  frighten  the  deer 
away. 

He  didn't  see  any  deer,  but  after  a  while  he 
found  a  big  patch  of  wild  strawberries,  so  thick 
he  couldn't  step  without  tramping  on  some.  That 
made  him  forget  all  about  his  deer  for  'most  an 
hour. 

Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  he  heard  a  crackling  in 
the  bushes  on  the  other  side  of  a  clearing,  and 
he  felt  sure  that  his  chance  had  come. 

Skinny  dropped  on  his  hands  and  knees  and 
crawled  toward  the  sound.  It  was  slow  work  be- 
cause he  had  to  be  careful  not  to  make  any  noise, 
and  he  grew  more  excited  every  moment. 

At  last  he  was  crouching  down  behind  some  big 


Treed  by  a  Bear  171 

bushes,  and  on  the  other  side  he  could  hear  the  deer 
real  plain,  tramping  around  like  a  horse. 

"  Gee !  "  thought  he.  "  It's  a  big  one  and  will 
look  great  up  by  our  cave." 

He  didn't  say  it  out  loud  because  he  knew  that 
although  the  deer  could  not  smell  him  on  account 
of  the  wind  blowing  the  other  way,  he  would  hear 
him,  unless  he  was  very  careful. 

Then,  getting  the  rope  ready  to  throw,  with  the 
slip  noose  working  easily,  he  parted  the  bushes 
gently  and  crept  through. 

There  was  a  great  crashing  as  some  big  animal 
broke  his  way  through  the  bushes  in  front  of  him. 
Then  came  a  snarl  and  a  growl  that  made  Skinny's 
heart  almost  stop  beating.  And  there  he  stood, 
paralyzed,  looking  straight  into  the  eyes  of  a 
bear! 

It  wasn't  any  Jake  Yost  with  his  boots  on  wrong, 
either.  It  was  the  real  thing,  looking  as  big  as 
the  Quaker  Meeting  House  to  Skinny,  although  it 
was  really  only  a  cub,  about  half  grown. 

I  guess  the  bear  wasn't  expecting  anybody  to 
call,  for  he  stood  there,  sort  of  paralyzed  himself, 


172  Treed  by  a  Bear 

his  eyes  looking  right  into  Skinny's  and  one  big 
paw  raised  to  take  another  step. 

Skinny  gave  a  howl  and  started  for  the  nearest 
tree,  one  that  was  too  small  for  a  bear  to  climb. 

Say,  if  tree  climbing  had  been  one  of  the  Scout 
stunts.  Skinny  would  have  won  two  badges. 

It  isn't  any  fun  to  sit  in  a  tree  on  a  mountain, 
with  a  real  live  bear  sniffing  around  at  the  bottom 
and  you  both  getting  hungrier  every  minute. 

Skinny  knew  he  was  safe  as  long  as  he  stayed 
in  the  tree,  but  he  didn't  dare  get  down  while  the 
bear  was  in  sight,  and  the  cub  wouldn't  go  away 
more  than  a  few  rods.  I  guess  Skinny  looked  good 
to  him,  he  was  so  fat. 

Dinner  time  came  and  went.  He  was  still  in 
the  tree  and  the  bear  was  still  fooling  around  below. 

Skinny  called  for  help  until  he  was  hoarse,  but 
there  wasn't  anybody  passing  at  that  time  of  day. 
Then  he  began  to  get  mad,  and  when  Skinny  gets 
mad,  look  out! 

"  You  think  you're  smart,"  said  he,  "  but  old 
Long  Knife  will  show  you  a  thing  or  two." 

First  he  let  down  his  rope  and  found  that  it 


Treed  by  a  Bear  173 

would  reach  the  ground.  Then  he  fixed  the  noose 
up  in  good  shape,  tied  the  other  end  around  a  Hmb 
and  waited. 

By  and  by  the  bear  came  smelHng  around  that 
rope  to  see  what  it  was,  and  that  was  exactly  what 
Skinny  had  been  waiting  for.  He  leaned  down  and 
tried  to  swing  the  noose  over  the  cub's  head.  The 
bear  didn't  know  what  to  make  of  it  and  every 
time  the  rope  would  hit  his  nose  he  would  growl 
and  strike  it  away  with  his  paw. 

Skinny  saw  that  he  would  have  to  get  closer. 
He  climbed  down  to  a  lower  limb;  then  held  on 
with  one  hand,  swung  out  over  the  bear,  and  tried 
to  lasso  him  with  the  other. 

He  almost  did  it,  too,  but  just  as  he  leaned  still 
farther  down,  all  of  a  sudden  there  was  a  cracking 
noise  and  the  limb  broke. 

With  an  awful  scream  of  despair.  Skinny  fell. 


CHAPTER  XII 

WHAT    HAPPENED   TO   THE    BEAR 

f  ■  iHE  Band,  I  mean  the  Ravens,  don't  know  so 
J  very  much  about  bears.  That  was  the  only 
bear  we  ever  had  come  across  and  we  had  been 
berrying  all  over  those  mountains,  although  mostly 
on  the  Greylock  side.  Pa  says  that  they  usually 
keep  away  from  the  road,  the  few  that  are  left, 
because  they  are  afraid  of  folks. 

Anyhow,  it  isn't  any  picnic  to  fall  out  of  a  tree 
at  any  time,  especially  when  there  is  a  bear  at 
the  bottom. 

When  the  limb  began  to  crack.  Skinny  knew  that 
he  was  a  goner.  He  yelled  so  loud  that  it  surprised 
the  bear  and  it  looked  up  into  the  tree  to  see  what 
was  going  on.  Just  at  that  second  the  leader  of 
Raven  Patrol  landed  on  the  cub's  nose,  like  a  thou- 
sand of  brick.     Boy  and  bear  both  went  sprawling, 

one  in  one  direction  and  the  other  in  another. 

174 


What  Happened  to  the  Bear        175 

Skinny  was  the  first  to  get  on  his  feet  and  the 
way  he  shinned  up  the  tree  again  was  a  caution. 
He  didn't  stop  to  look  until  he  had  reached  the 
limb  where  the  rope  was  tied.     Then  he  felt  safe. 

The  bear  had  picked  himself  up  and  was  stand- 
ing close  to  the  foot  of  the  tree,  looking  up  and 
whining,  as  if  he  didn't  like  being  hit  in  the  head 
by  a  boy  very  well. 

It  was  the  chance  which  Skinny  had  been  waiting 
for.  He  gathered  the  rope  up  in  his  hands  and 
opened  the  noose  wide.  Then,  leaning  down  as  far 
as  he  dared,  until  he  was  right  over  the  bear,  he 
dropped  it.  The  noose  fell  as  straight  as  a  die  and, 
spreading  out  around  the  cub's  head,  lay  across 
his  shoulders  with  the  side  nearest  the  tree  almost 
touching  the  ground. 

Just  as  the  bear  stepped  one  foot  over  the  loop. 
Skinny  grabbed  the  rope  with  both  hands  and  gave 
a  quick  jerk.  The  noose  tightened;  and  there  was 
the  most  surprised  bear  you  ever  saw,  tied  fast  to 
the  tree!  Skinny  stood  on  the  limb  above  like  a 
big  crow,  cawing  to  beat  the  band  and  so  excited 
that  he  came  near  falling  again. 


176        What  Happened  to  the  Bear 

"  Gee,  but  that  bear  was  mad,"  said  Skinny,  when 
he  was  telling  us  about  it.  "  He  growled  and  he 
snapped  and  he  rolled  on  the  ground;  then  he  ran 
around  and  around  the  tree,  until  he  had  wound 
himself  up  short,  but  he  couldn't  get  away.  It  was 
great,  only  I  didn't  dare  jump  on  him  again.  He 
was  too  crazy." 

"  Great  snakes.  Skinny !  "  exclaimed  Bill.  **  You 
always  have  all  the  fun." 

"  I  guess  you  wouldn't  have  thought  it  so  much 
fun  if  you  had  been  up  in  the  tree  and  couldn't 
get  down.  I'd  'a'  choked  him  with  the  rope,  if 
he  hadn't  got  his  feet  tangled  up  in  it  so  that  I 
couldn't." 

"  How  did  you  get  down,  Skinny  ?  "  asked  Benny, 
because  Skinny  had  a  way  of  stopping  at  the  most 
interesting  places  and  pretending  that  he  was 
through  telling  about  it. 

In  order  to  tell  about  that  I'll  have  to  go  back 
a  little  in  this  history. 

When  Mr.  Richmond  told  Skinny  to  go  up  to 
Savoy  and  to  be  careful  not  to  let  the  bears  get 
him,  he  was  trying  to  scare  a  Boy  Scout.     He  says 


What  Happened  to  the  Bear        177 

that  he  hadn't  any  idea  there  would  be  a  bear  or 
deer  around,  or  he  shouldn't  have  let  him  go.  But 
the  next  morning  a  man  from  Savoy  drove  past 
the  house  and  told  about  seeing  a  bear  on  the  way 
down.  He  didn't  have  his  gun  along  and  besides 
the  bear  ran  into  the  woods  when  he  saw  him. 

That  made  Mr.  Richmond  feel  uneasy. 

"  I  wish  I  hadn't  let  the  boy  go  up  the  moun- 
tain," he  said.  "  I  don't  suppose  anything  will 
happen  to  him,  but  I'd  feel  better  If  he  hadn't  gone. 
I  guess,  of  the  two,  the  bear  would  be  the  most 
scared  if  they  should  meet." 

"  He  told  me  that  he'd  surely  come  in  time  for 
dinner,"  said  Mary. 

When  dinner  time  came  she  put  a  plate  on  for 
him.  He  didn't  show  up,  of  course.  He  was  up 
in  the  tree  about  that  time,  wondering  how  he  ever 
would  get  down.  After  that  Mr.  Richmond  grew 
real  anxious  and  went  to  the  house  several  times 
to  see  if  Skinny  had  come. 

"  That  boy  looked  to  me,"  he  said  at  last,  "  as 
if  he  wouldn't  be  guilty  of  missing  a  good  dinner 
if  he  could  help  it.     I  am  going  after  him.     He 


1 78        What  Happened  to  the  Bear 

may  be  all  right,  but  I'm  going  to  find  out  for 
sure." 

With  that,  he  hitched  up  a  horse,  took  down  his 
gun,  and  started. 

"  Let  me  go,  too,"  Mary  called  after  him.  "  I 
can  hold  the  horse  while  you  are  looking." 

"  All  right.  Jump  in.  We'll  probably  meet  him 
on  the  road  somewhere." 

The  first  they  saw  or  heard  of  him  was  the  yell 
which  Skinny  gave  when  the  limb  broke.  It  scared 
them. 

"  Take  the  reins,"  said  Mr.  Richmond.  "  There 
is  trouble  over  there.  Turn  around  and  if  any- 
thing comes  run  the  old  horse  down  the  road." 

Say,  he  was  paralyzed,  when  he  found  the  bear 
tied  to  a  tree  and  Skinny  standing  on  a  limb,  caw- 
ing. 

"  I  was  that  flabbergasted,"  said  he  afterward, 
"  that  I  hardly  could  pull  the  trigger." 

But  he  pulled  it,  all  right,  and  that  was  the  end 
of  Mr.  Bear. 

Skinny  didn't  like  it  because  Mr.  Richmond  killed 
the  bear.     He  wanted  to  tame  It  and  give  a  show 


What  Happened  to  the  Bear        179 

in  our  barn.  He  was  bound  to  take  it  home,  any- 
how, so  as  to  save  the  skin. 

It  took  a  lot  of  pulling  and  hauling  to  get  the 
cub  out  to  the  road,  and  Mary  had  to  help  before 
they  could  lift  him  into  the  wagon. 

"  Jump  in,"  said  Mr.  Richmond,  when  everything 
was  ready.     "  It  is  time  that  I  was  getting  home." 

"  I  can't,"  said  Skinny.  "  You  see,  I  am  doing 
a  stunt  for  the  Scouts  and  I  have  to  walk." 

Just  before  they  started  Mary  thought  of  some- 
thing. 

"  Say,"  said  she,  "  maybe  I'd  walk,  too,  if  any- 
body asked  me;  that  is,  if  Grandpa  would  let  me 
and  it  wouldn't  make  any  difference  with  the 
Scouts." 

"  Come  on,  do,"  said  Skinny.  "  May  she,  Mr, 
Richmond?" 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  seein'  as  how  you've  got  a 
rope  and  it  ain't  very  far,  I'm  willin'.  But  it  will 
be  mighty  lonesome  for  me." 

I  never  saw  Skinny  so  chesty  as  he  was  over 
catching  that  bear.  And  he  had  a  right  to  be,  for 
everybody  was  talking  about  it  and  there  was  a 


i8o        What  Happened  to  the  Bear 

long  piece  in  the  paper.  He  even  wanted  to  change 
the  name  of  Raven  Patrol  to  the  Bears,  but  we 
wouldn't  stand  for  that.  We  didn't  know  how  to 
make  a  noise  like  a  bear,  anyway. 

After  that  the  folks  told  us  to  keep  away  from 
Savoy  Mountain,  rope  or  no  rope,  and  we  had 
to  do  it.  But  Skinny  wanted  to  go  back  and  get 
a  bear  for  each  of  us. 

"  I  think  that  our  patrol  leader  has  made  good," 
said  Mr.  Norton,  when  Skinny  had  finished. 
"  What  I'm  wondering  is,  who  was  the  most 
frightened,  Gabriel  or  the  bear?" 

"  The  bear  was,"  said  Skinny ;  "  anyhow,  after 
I  jumped  on  him.  Say,  I'll  bet  you  fellers  wouldn't 
dast  jump  on  a  live  bear,  when  he  was  growling 
and  shov/ing  his  teeth.  It  was  great,  just  like 
jumping  on  a  cushion,  only  the  bear  didn't  like  it 
very  well." 

The  other  boys  didn't  have  much  to  tell,  much 
that  was  exciting,  I  mean,  but  Mr.  Norton  made 
us  all  report  what  we  did.  Hank  came  last 
of  all. 

"  Well,  Henry,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  "  what  have 


What  Happened  to  the  Bear        i8i 

you  to  say  for  yourself?  You  went  to  Cheshire 
by  the  river  road,  I  believe?" 

*' How  about  that  new  invention,  Hank?"  I 
asked.     I'd  forgotten  all  about  it  until  then. 

"  Have  you  a  new  invention,  Henry  ?  Tell  us 
about  it." 

"  'Tain't  nothin',"  said  Hank,  squirming  in  his 
chair.  "  It  didn't  work  just  right.  I  guess  I'll 
have  to  go  home  now.  Ma  said  to  get  in  by  ten 
o'clock." 

"  We'll  have  time  for  your  report,"  Mr.  Norton 
told  him. 

Hank  kept  nudging  me,  trying  to  get  me  to  go 
with  him,  but  I  wouldn't  do  it,  so  after  a  while  he 
began. 

You  see  his  invention,  the  one  he  spoke  to  me 
about  just  before  we  started,  was  a  Life  Saver. 
When  we  were  learning  to  be  Scouts  Mr.  Norton 
taught  us  how  to  bring  drowned  people  back  to 
life  again;  that  is,  if  they  haven't  been  in  the  water 
too  long.  What  Hank  wanted  to  do  was  to  invent 
something  that  would  keep  them  from  getting 
drowned  in  the  first  place. 


1 82        What  Happened  to  the  Bear 

"  It's  all  right  to  bring  them  to  life,"  he  told 
me,  "  but  it  would  be  a  heap  better  not  to  have 
'em  drown  at  all." 

After  doing  a  lot  of  thinking,  he  made  a  sort 
of  balloon  of  oiled  silk,  with  the  mouth  fastened 
to  a  hollow  reed  and  a  piece  of  potato  to  put  over 
the  end  of  the  reed,  instead  of  a  cork.  Hanging 
from  the  mouthpiece  were  two  pieces  of  stout  cord. 

"  What's  it  for.  Hank  ? "  asked  Skinny,  when 
he  was  showing  it  to  us.  "  It  looks  like  a  bag- 
pipe." 

"  It's  a  Life  Saver,"  he  said.  "  You  carry  it 
in  your  pocket  when  the  air  is  out  of  it  and  look 
along  the  river  until  you  find  somebody  drowning. 
Then  you  throw  him  the  Life  Saver,  if  he  hasn't 
got  one  in  his  own  pocket.  He  ties  it  around  his 
neck,  puts  the  mouthpiece  to  his  lips,  and  blows 
the  bag  full  of  wind.  Then  he  puts  the  potato  on 
the  end  to  keep  the  air  from  leaking  out.  He  can't 
sink,  can  he?     The  balloon  will  hold  him  up." 

"  Great  snakes.  Hank !  "  said  Bill.  "  You've  got 
a  great  head — like  a  tack." 

"  A  tack's  head  is  level,  just  the  same.'* 


What  Happened  to  the  Bear        183 

**  Guess  what,"  said  Benny.  "  Let's  go  swim- 
ming up  to  the  Basin,  to-morrow,  and  try  it." 

"  We  can  go  swimming  if  we  want  to,"  Hank 
told  him,  "  but  I  did  try  it.  It  worked  and  it 
didn't  work." 

"What's  the  answer?"  I  asked. 

"  Well,  you  see,  I  walked  all  the  way  to  Cheshire 
Harbor,  looking  for  a  chance  to  use  the  Life  Saver 
and  I  couldn't  find  anybody  even  in  swimming,  let 
alone  drowning.  The  water  isn't  deep  enough  for 
drowning  in  most  places,  anyhow.  But  when  I 
got  to  Cheshire  Harbor  I  found  a  kid  sitting  on 
the  bank  of  the  race,  fishing. 

"'What  you  got?'  he  asked,  when  he  saw  me 
fooling  with  the  Life  Saver. 

"  *  Jump  in,'  I  said,  after  I  had  told  him  about 
it.     *  I'll  show  you  how  it  works.' 

"  '  Jump  in  yourself,'  he  said.  '  I  don't  want  to 
get  my  feet  wet.  Let's  see  the  old  thing,  any- 
way.' 

"  I  handed  it  to  him  and  he  blew  up  the  bag  until 
I  thought  it  would  bust,  and  then  tied  it  on  with 
the  strings. 


184        What  Happened  to  the  Bear 

"  '  Say,  that's  great  stuff,'  said  he.  '  I'll  bet  it 
will  work  all  right.' 

"  When  he  said  that,  I  don't  know  why  I  did  it, 
but  it  seemed  as  if  I  couldn't  help  it.  I  felt  as  if  I 
just  had  to  save  him.  I  pushed  him  in,  balloon 
and  all." 

*' Gee-e-ewhilikens!  "  shouted  Skinny. 

"  You  mutt !  "  said  Bill. 

Mr.  Norton  was  too  surprised  to  say  anything, 
but  he  had  the  funniest  look  on  his  face. 

"  Did  it  work  ?  "  Benny  asked. 

"  It  worked  all  right,  but " 

"  But  what  ?  "  I  said,  beginning  to  get  mad  be- 
cause Hank  kept  stopping  at  the  most  interesting 
parts. 

"  He  had  tied  it  on  to  one  ankle,  instead  of 
around  his  neck.  It  made  his  ankle  float,  but  his 
head  went  under,  and  he  couldn't  swim.  I  rescued 
him,  but  I  had  to  jump  in  after  him  and  pull 
him  out.  It  was  hard  work  because  he  kept  try- 
ing to  hit  me  all  the  time.  Then,  after  I'd  got 
him  out,  I  had  to  lick  him  before  he  would  let  me 
go  on  and  do  my  stunt." 


What  Happened  to  the  Bear        185 

"  I   hardly  think  that   was   according  to   Scout 
law,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  when  the  rest  of  us  had 
.   finished    laughing    and    pounding    Hank    on    the 
back. 

"  I  rescued  somebody,  just  the  same.  Only  it 
wasn't  a  maiden." 

"  We  still  have  a  few  minutes,"  said  Mr.  Norton. 
*'  Suppose  that  we  play  a  new  game  which  I  have 
here.  It  is  a  kind  of  invention  of  my  own  and 
is  called  baseball." 

"  Seems  as  if  I'd  heard  of  that  game  some- 
where," said  Skinny,  poking  me  in  the  ribs. 

"  Not  this  one.  This  is  parlor  baseball  and  is 
brand  new,"  replied  the  Scoutmaster. 

He  brought  out  a  chart,  marked  off  in  squares 
to  represent  different  plays,  and  laid  it  flat  on  the 
floor,  about  six  inches  from  the  wall,  at  the  end  of 
the  room. 

"  Now,"  said  he,  "  we'll  choose  sides,  then  stand 
off  about  ten  feet  and  toss  silver  dollars  at  the 
squares.  That  is  the  same  as  going  to  bat.  I  men- 
tion silver  dollars  because  I  brought  some  with  me. 
Any  disk,  or  ring,  about  the  same  size  and  weight 


186       What  Happened  to  the  Bear 

would  do  as  well  and  might  be  more  convenient. 
The  square  on  which  the  disk  rests  gives  the  result 
of  your  play.     If  the  disk  rolls  off  the  chart  it 


HOME  RUN 

STRIKE 

THREE    BASE 
HIT 

FLY  CATCH 

BATTER  HIT 

OUT  ON 
FIRST 

SINGLE 

BALL 

TWO  BASE 
HIT 

FOUL 

PASS   BALL 

BALK 

counts  as  a  strike,  and  three  strikes  are  out.  Usu- 
ally the  Scoutmaster  or  Scout  leader  acts  as  umpire, 
calls  off  each  play  as  made  and  keeps  the  score. 


What  Happened  to  the  Bear        187 

To-night,  however,  as  Wilham  is  not  able  to  play, 
we  will  make  him  umpire  and  I  will  take  part  in 
the  game  to  make  even  sides." 

"  Let  me  illustrate,"  he  went  on.  "  We  will  sup- 
pose that  the  first  man  up  throws  three  disks  and 
all  of  them  roll  off  the  chart.  That  counts  as 
three  strikes  and  he  is  out.  The  second  player  may 
throw  a  two-bagger  or  a  single.  He  then  returns 
to  his  seat  and  the  third  player,  by  throwing  a 
three-bagger,  brings  the  second  man  home  and  gains 
third  base  for  himself.  The  runners  are  advanced 
each  time  as  many  bases  as  the  batter  makes.  They 
also  are  advanced  one  base  by  a  pass  ball,  a  fly 
catch  or  an  out-on-first.  The  first  two  fouls  count 
as  strikes,  of  course,  and  four  balls  entitle  the  bat- 
ter to  first  base.  The  arrangement  of  these  squares 
is  important.  The  home  run  is  guarded  on  three 
sides  by  strikes  and  in  front  by  a  fly  catch.  The 
three-base  hit  is  as  carefully  guarded." 

"  Say, /that  game  is  all  right,"  said  Skinny,  after 
we  had  finished  playing.  "  Three  caws  for  Mr. 
Norton,  our  'stinguished  and  celebrated  Scoutmas- 
ter." 


i88        What  Happened  to  the  Bear 

As  soon  as  he  could  make  himself  heard,  Bill 
spoke  up. 

"  I  think  the  secretary,"  said  he,  "  ought  to  put 
how  to  play  that  game  in  the  minutes  of  the 
meetin'." 

"  There  ain't  goin'  to  be  any,"  I  told  him.  "  It's 
too  much  work." 

"  I  think  that  William's  suggestion  is  a  good 
one,"  Mr.  Norton  said,  "  and  I  also  appreciate  the 
force  of  your  secretary's  objection.  How  would  it 
be  if  I  should  do  the  work?  I'll  have  typewritten 
copies  of  the  rules  of  the  game  struck  off,  so  that 
each  of  you  can  have  one." 

That  is  what  he  did,  the  very  next  day.  I  am 
going  to  put  the  rules  into  this  history  right  here, 
just  as  he  wrote  them,  because  other  Scouts  may 
want  to  play  the  game. 

Scouts'  Parlor  Baseball. — Rules  for  Play. 

Divide  the  patrol  into  two  equal  groups  and 
arrange  them  in  batting  order  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  room.     Place  the  baseball  chart  six  or  eight 


What  Happened  to  the  Bear        189 

inches  from  one  end  of  the  room  on  the  floor  and 
indicate  a  mark  ten  feet  from  the  chart  for  the 
*'  batter "  to  stand  on.  The  Scouts  having  their 
inning  then  take  turns  at  tossing  a  silver  dollar  (an- 
other metallic  disk  or  ring  of  equal  size  will  suffice) 
at  the  chart.  Each  player's  record  at  bat  is  told  by 
the  square  on  which  the  dollar  rests,  off  the  chart 
entirely  counting  as  a  strike.  If  the  dollar  rests 
squarely  across  a  line  it  is  tossed  again. 

The  rules  of  baseball  govern  the  game.  After  a 
player  finishes  his  turn,  he  takes  position  at  the 
farther  end  of  his  side,  and  the  next  in  line  takes 
his  turn,  thus  preserving  the  batting  order.  When 
three  players  have  been  declared  out,  that  side  is 
retired  and  the  other  side  takes  its  inning.  If 
time  permits,  a  nine-inning  game  is  played;  other- 
wise the  number  of  innings  to  be  played  should  be 
decided  before  beginning. 

When  a  "  batter  "  wins  a  position  on  a  base  he 
is  advanced  at  each  play  as  many  bases  as  the  next 
player  earns  at  the  "  bat."  He  also  advances  one 
base  on  out-on-first,  fly-catch,  balk,  and  pass-ball 
plays,  and  when  forced.     He  must  keep  track  of 


190        What  Happened  to  the  Bear 

his  supposed  position  on  the  bases  and  report  to 
the  official  when  making  a  score. 

The  official,  usually  the  patrol  leader  or  Scout- 
master, decides  the  plays  and  tosses  the  dollars 
back  to  the  players.  He  also  keeps  the  score,  and 
may  correct  a  player,  if  necessary,  for  being  noisy, 
or  for  leaving  his  seat  when  not  playing.  In  fact, 
he  is  in  control  of  the  game,  but  is  not  allowed 
to  play  except  when  there  is  present  an  odd  number 
without  him. 

The  chart  should  be  made  of  stiff  paper  so  as 
to  lie  flat  on  the  floor,  or  of  cloth,  in  order  to  be 
tacked  down.  Each  square  should  be  9  x  9  inches, 
but  a  smaller  size  may  be  used  if  the  room  is  not 
large.  In  that  case  the  players  should  stand  less 
than  ten  feet  from  the  chart.  The  squares  must 
be  labeled  as  in  the  diagram.  Young  Scouts,  or 
beginners,  are  sometimes  allowed  to  stand  eight,  br 
even  six,  feet  from  the  chart,  in  order  to  make  the 
sides  more  equal.  This  and  any  other  questions 
that  may  arise  are  decided  by  the  official. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

EAGLE  PATROL  JOINS  THE  SCOUTS 

YOU  must  not  think,  when  you  read  this  his- 
tory, that  something  all  the  time  was  happen- 
ing to  us  Scouts.  I  am  only  telling  about  what 
did  happen.  Pa  says  that  when  it  comes  to  starting 
things  we  have  them  all  beaten  to  a  frazzle  and  Ma 
told  us  that  it  would  be  a  mercy  if  we  ever  lived 
to  grow  up,  without  losing  any  of  our  hands  or 
feet.  But  we  don't  think  so.  Boys  have  to  be 
doing  something  all  the  time,  don't  they?  If  they 
didn't  they  would  get  into  mischief. 

Anyhow,  there  didn't  much  of  anything  happen 
after  Skinny  lassoed  the  bear,  for  a  long  time, 
unless  you  count  the  Fourth  of  July.  Nobody 
can  help  having  the  Fourth  of  July.  It's  part  of 
the  year.     It  is  for  our  country. 

One  Fourth  c^  July,  long  ago,  even  before  Pa 

was  bom,  they  rang  old  Liberty  Bell  in  Philadel- 

191 


192       Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts 

phia,  to  beat  the  band,  and  they  fired  off  guns. 
'Cause  why?  'Cause  there  was  a  paper  signed  on 
that  day,  which  said  that  the  United  States  of 
America  should  be  free  and  independent.  But 
England  was  like  old  Pharaoh,  with  the  Hebrew 
children,  that  the  Bible  tells  about.  They  didn't 
want  to  let  us  go.  I  don't  blame  them  much  fof 
it,  either,  but  Skinny  does. 

Anyhow,  I  guess  God  must  have  meant  for  us 
to  go  free,  just  as  He  did  the  Children  of  Israel 
because,  although  England  was  the  greatest  Nation 
in  the  world  and  the  best  one,  too,  it  seems  to  me, 
and  we  were  only  a  few  scattering  colonies  with- 
out much  money  or  anything,  we  came  out  ahead. 
That  is  why  Skinny  thinks  that  George  Washing- 
ton could  have  licked  Napoleon  Bonaparte  with  one 
hand  tied  behind  his  back. 

So  we  have  the  Fourth  of  July,  and  we  boys  ring 
the  church  bells  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
when  they  don't  catch  us  at  it,  just  like  old  Liberty 
Bell  was  rung  so  many  years  ago. 

One  of  Skinny 's  ancestors  was  killed  in  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill.     That  is  what  makes  him  so  fierce 


Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts        193 

against  the  Britishers.  Every  Fourth  of  July  he 
has  us  go  up  on  Bob's  Hill  or  somewhere  and  fight 
the  battle  all  over  again. 

The  time  I  am  telling  about  we  built  a  fire  on 
the  hill  and  rang  the  church  bells  and  fired  off 
firecrackers  until  we  were  tired  and  half  starved; 
then  went  home  to  breakfast.  Everybody  prom- 
ised to  meet  again  at  my  house  about  nine  o'clock. 

Soon  after  nine  we  all  were  sitting  on  our  side 
steps,  talking  over  w^here  we  should  go  for  our 
battle,  when  Skinny  happened  to  stand  up  and  look 
down  the  street. 

We  heard  him  make  a  noise  like  a  snake  and  he 
dropped  off  the  steps  to  the  ground  so  quickly  that 
we  thought  at  first  he  had  a  fit  or  something,  until 
he  made  a  motion  for  us  to  follow  him  and  began 
to  crawl  toward  the  fence. 

We  didn't  know  what  the  matter  was,  but  knew 
that  it  was  something  important,  so  we  crawled 
along  after  him  as  fast  as  w^e  could.  When  we 
reached  the  pickets  he  pointed  and  we  peeped  over 
the  top,  careful  not  to  let  more  than  our  eyes  be 
seen. 


194       Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts 

What  we  saw  was  three  members  of  the  Gingham 
Ground  Gang  coming  up  the  street,  walking  in  the 
middle  of  the  road  and  looking  on  both  sides  as 
they  came,  as  if  they  were  expecting  trouble  and 
wanted  to  be  ready  for  it. 

Two  of  them  had  red  shirts,  and  that  made 
Skinny  mad  because  it  made  him  think  of  his 
ancestor  who  was  killed  at  Bunker  Hill. 

"  The  Redcoats  are  coming,"  said  he  in  a  hoarse 
whisper,  so  that  they  wouldn't  hear,  but  fierce-like, 
just  the  same.  "  Wait  until  you  can  see  the  whites 
of  their  eyes;  then,  '  charge,  the  ground's  your  own, 
my  braves.  Will  ye  give  it  up  to  slaves?  Hope 
ye  mercy,  still  ?  '  " 

It  was  a  part  of  his  last  day  piece  at  school  and 
sounded  fine. 

"  Charge  nothin' !  "  said  Bill.  "  The  Americans 
didn't  do  any  charging  at  Bunker  Hill,  I  guess. 
The  Britishers  did  the  charging.  The  Americans 
waited  behind  a  fence  until  they  got  near  enough 
and  then  let  'em  have  it,  until  their  ammunition 
gave  out.     Then  they  ran.     That's  what  they  did." 

That  was  true,  too,  but,  just  the  same,  it  was  a 


Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts       195 

victory  to  hold  the  hill  as  long  as  their  powder 
lasted,  and  Bill  knew  it,  but  he  liked  to  get  Skinny 
mad. 

"  Bill  Wilson,"  said  Skinny,  "  you  are  a  nice 
patriot!  You  are  a  Scout  and  a  half;  that's  what 
you  are — not!  So  are  we  going  to  run  but,  bet 
your  life,  we're  going  to  run  toward  the  enemy. 
If  you  want  to  stay  here  behind  the  fence  you  can 
do  it.     The  rest  of  us  are  going  to  charge." 

Bill  gave  me  a  thump  in  the  ribs  and  grinned, 
but  didn't  say  anything.  I  saw  Benny  whisper 
something,  his  eyes  shining  with  excitement;  then 
Skinny  motioned  to  us  what  to  do. 

Each  of  us  lighted  a  firecracker  and  held  it  with 
the  fuse  sputtering  and  sizzling,  until  they  w^ere 
almost  opposite.  Then  we  threw  the  crackers 
under  their  feet.  They  went  off  like  a  volley  of 
musketry.  At  the  same  time  we  gave  a  great  caw 
and  jumped  the  fence. 

"  Give  it  to  'em,  fellers,"  yelled  Skinny.  "  These 
are  the  guys  that  wanted  to  duck  Benny  in  the  mill 
pond." 

Say,   it  was  great     The   firecrackers  surprised 


196       Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts 

them,  for  they  hadn't  seen  us,  and  we  were  over 
the  fence  and  upon  them  before  they  could  run. 
Things  were  lively  in  Park  Street  for  a  few  min- 
utes. Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  we  heard  a  man's 
voice  say: 

"  Scouts,  attention !  " 

And  there  was  Mr.  Norton,  looking  surprised 
and  sorry! 

We  all  stood  up  with  a  jerk  and  saluted,  and 
the  Gingham  Ground  boys  started  to  run.  They 
only  went  a  few  steps,  however,  and  then  waited 
to  see  what  was  going  to  happen. 

"  Scouts,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  sternly,  "  what  sort 
of  brawl  is  this,  on  the  Fourth  of  July?" 

He  was  looking  at  Skinny,  he  being  Scout  leader. 

"  'Tain't  a  brawl,"  said  Skinny.  "  It's  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill;  that's  what  it  is." 

"  Oh,  it  is,  is  it  ?  On  which  side  are  you  Scouts 
fighting?" 

"  We  are  Americans,  of  course." 

"  Well,  if  I  remember  my  history  right,  in  that 
battle  a  little  handful  of  Americans  faced  the  Brit- 
ish soldiers  and  held  them  back  until  their  powder 


Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts        197 

gave  out.  And  here  the  American  army  seems  to 
be  attacking  a  handful  of  British." 

"  That's  what  I  told  him,"  said  Bill. 

"  Anyhow,"  said  Skinny,  "  those  guys  tried  to 
duck  Benny  that  time  when  he  was  coming  home 
from  his  long  hike.  So  we  thought  that  we  would 
duck  them  in  the  race.  Didn't  they  try  to  duck 
you,  Benny  ?  " 

Benny  nodded. 

"  How  about  Scout  law?  "  asked  Mr.  Norton. 

"  Scout  law  dDesn't  say  we  mustn't  duck  our  ene- 
mies." 

"  It  does,  too,"  Bill  told  him.  "  It  says  that  we 
must  be  kind  to  animals." 

That  was  a  hot  one  and  it  made  us  all  laugh. 

"  How  much  more  should  we  be  kind  one  to 
another,"  said  Mr.  Norton. 

"  Well,  it  wasn't  very  kind  to  duck  Benny,"  in- 
sisted Skinny. 

"  No,  and  they  didn't  do  it.  If  I  have  been  cor- 
rectly informed,  they  let  Benny  go  because  John 
here  was  kind  to  a  dumb  animal." 

That  was  true  and  I  said  so. 


198       Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts 

"  Even  if  they  had  ducked  him,  don't  you  think 
that  it  would  be  better  to  heap  '  coals  of  fire  •  upon 
their  heads?  " 

It  surprised  Benny  to  hear  Mr.  Norton  talk  like 
that. 

"  We  wouldn't  do  such  a  thing,"  said  he.  "  Be- 
sides, we  haven't  got  any  hot  coals," 

"  Yes,  you  have,"  laughed  Mr.  Norton.  "  The 
*  hot  coals  '  I  mean  are  kind  words  and  kind  actions. 
What  I  meant  to  say  was  that  you  should  return 
good  for  evil  and  then  your  kind  words  would 
make  those  boys  feel  as  if  you  were  putting  coals 
of  fire  on  their  heads." 

"  I  don't  believe  we  ought  to  do  it,"  Skinny  told 
him,  "  if  it  is  going  to  hurt  that  bad." 

"  Suppose  we  try  it  and  see.  I  think  perhaps  it 
will  not  be  quite  so  painful." 

"  Boys,"  said  he,  turning  to  the  Gingham  Ground 
bunch  just  as  they  were  starting  away.  "  I  have 
organized  these  eight  village  lads  into  a  patrol  of 
the  Boy  Scouts  of  America  and  we  have  planned 
to  have  a  campfire  this  evening  on  Bob's  Hill. 
These  Scouts  of  mine  mean  all  right.     They  are 


Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts       199 

simply  working  off  a  little  misdirected  patriotism. 
Now,  what  we  want,  is  for  you  to  meet  with  us, 
you  and  the  rest  of  the  Gang.  Will  you  do 
it?" 

They  didn't  want  to  at  first. 

"  There  are  Boy  Scouts,"  he  went  on,  '*  in  all 
parts  of  the  civilized  world;  in  England,  too, 
Gabriel,  as  well  as  in  this  country,  and  the  Law 
says  that  all  Scouts  are  brothers  to  every  other 
Scout.  There  are  a  half  million  in  the  United 
States  alone.  I  have  been  appointed  Scoutmaster 
for  this  district  and  I  want  to  organize  one  or  two 
more  patrols  so  that  I  can  have  a  troop.  I  have 
had  you  boys  in  mind  ever  since  you  so  nobly 
turned  out  to  help  find  William,  the  time  he  was 
hurt  on  Greylock.  It  will  be  much  the  same  as  the 
Gang,  only  better.  You  can  keep  the  same  leader 
if  you  wish,  and  I  know  a  man  who  will  buy 
uniforms  for  you  all.  Will  you  come  to-night  so 
that  we  can  talk  it  over?     What  do  you  say?" 

The  uniform  business  settled  it. 

"  We'll  come,  if  the  rest  of  the  Gang  will,"  they 
told  him. 


200       Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts 

"Good!     Shake  hands  on  it." 

"  Attention,  Scouts !  "  shouted  Mr.  Norton,  after 
he  had  shaken  hands. 

"  Salute  enemy !  " 

We  gave  the  Scout  salute  to  the  Gingham  Ground 
boys,  while  they  stood  there  grinning  and  not  know- 
ing what  to  do. 

Then,  after  whispering  together,  they  gave  us  the 
Gang  yell.     It  was  great. 

"  We'll  be  there,"  they  called,  as  they  started 
up  the  street. 

They  were,  too,  ten  of  them,  with  Jim  Donavan 
at  their  head.  They  came  across  lots  from  the 
Quaker  Meeting  House,  soon  after  we  had  gath- 
ered around  the  big  stone  where  we  have  our  fires, 
just  as  they  had  come  two  years  before,  the 
time  we  had  our  big  fight  and  came  to  know 
Jim. 

Mr.  Norton  saw  them  coming  and  went  to  meet 
them. 

"  This  is  fine,"  said  he,  after  we  all  had  sat 
down  on  the  grass  around  the  fire.  "  You  are 
a  pretty  husky  bunch  of  fellows,  and  Raven  Patrol 


Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts       201 

will  have  to  go  some  to  keep  up,  after  you  get 
started.  Skinny — I  mean  Gabriel — suppose  you 
tell  our  visitors  something  about  the  Scouts." 

"  It's  great,"  began  Skinny.  "  We've  been  ban- 
dits and  we've  been  Injuns,  but  Scouts  beat  'em  all. 
The  woods  are  full  of  'em  all  over  the  country, 
and  they  go  about  with  uniforms  on,  doing  good 
and  having  fun.  They  are  like  an  army.  We  are 
one  company,  you  will  be  another.  I'm  the  same 
as  captain,  only  they  call  me  patrol  leader.  Mr. 
Norton  is  Scoutmaster,  and  there  are  officers  above 
him,  only  we  never  saw  them.  We  learn  all  about 
woodcraft  and  signs  and  signaling  and  how  to  do 
a  lot  of  things,  and  we  rescue  people  and  do  all 
kinds  of  stunts  and  get  badges.  The  Ravens  are 
going  across  the  mountain  on  an  exploring  trip. 
I  am  going  to  look  for  a  cave  and  maybe  there  is 
treasure  in  it.  Our  patrol  animal  is  the  crow,  and 
it  'most  ought  to  be  yours  because  you  live  so  near 
the  Raven  Rocks." 

Skinny  had  run  down  by  this  time,  although  Bill 
was  winding  him  up  like  a  clock  behind  his  back 
and  making  a  clicking  noise  with  his  tongue. 


202       Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts 

"  G'wan !  "  said  he,  turning  around  and  catching 
him  at  it,  "  or  I'll  biff  you  one." 

"  Perhaps  I'd  better  add  a  little  to  that  explana- 
tion," said  Mr.  Norton. 

Then  he  told  all  about  it,  much  as  he  had  told 
us  that  first  time,  and  about  Scout  law;  what  it 
meant  to  be  a  Scout;  how  it  made  boys  manly,  and 
how  much  fun  they  would  have. 

"  What  I  w^ant  is  a  troop,"  said  he,  when  he  had 
finished  the  story.  "  Several  patrols  together  arc 
called  a  troop.  I  would  be  in  charge  as  Scoutmas- 
ter. Raven  Patrol  is  now  in  pretty  good  shape. 
We  are  going  on  a  camping  expedition  in  a  few 
weeks  and  we'll  have  a  good  chance  to  practise  up 
on  signaling,  swimming,  following  trails  through 
the  woods,  and  things  like  that.  Next  year  I 
should  like  to  take  a  whole  troop  along. 
What  do  you  say?  Suppose  you  go  over  by 
that  other  stone  and  talk  about  it  among  your- 
selves." 

"  I  know  what  I'll  say,  right  now,"  said  Jim, 
**  but  perhaps  we'd  better  talk  it  over  just  the 
same." 


Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts       203 

We  saw  them  whispering  together  for  about  five 
minutes.     Then  they  came  back. 

"We'll  do  it,"  said  Jim.  "And  we'll  do  the 
best  we  can,  only  we  may  make  mistakes  at  first. 
We  are  going  to  take  the  American  eagle  for  our 
patrol  animal  on  account  of  this  being  the  Fourth 
of  July." 

"  Everybody  makes  mistakes,"  Mr.  Norton  told 
him,  "  but  the  boy  or  the  man  who  has  the  right 
stuff  in  him  never  makes  the  same  mistake  twice. 
Suppose  that  you  elect  a  patrol  leader  to-night  be- 
fore we  separate,  because  we  shall  want  to  consult 
together  a  great  deal  in  the  next  few  days  and  I 
shall  be  too  busy  to  see  you  all." 

"  Jim,"  they  began  to  yell,  all  keeping  time. 
"Jim!     Jim!     Jim!" 

"  Jim,  you  seem  to  be  elected,"  said  Mr.  Norton, 
reaching  out  and  shaking  hands  with  him. 

"  Speech !  "  yelled  Hank. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  said  Benny,  getting  up 
on  his  feet  and  bowing  right  and  left,  "  the  Hon- 
orable James  Donavan  will  now  say  a  few  words, 
if  he  dast." 


204       Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts 

Jim  looked  as  if  he  wanted  to  run,  but  in  a  minute 
he  braced  up. 

"  I  never  made  a  speech  in  my  life,"  said  he, 
"  and  I  ain't  going  to  make  one  now,  but  you  will 
find  the  Gang  true  blue.  We  ain't  much  on  clothes, 
and  our  folks  haven't  got  much  money,  but  we'll 
do  the  best  we  can,  if  you  will  tell  us  how.  And  we 
are  much  obliged  for  taking  us  in." 

"  Three  cheers  for  Captain  Donavan  and  Eagle 
Patrol,"  shouted  Mr.  Norton,  weaving  his  hat. 
"  Now !  " 

I'll  bet  they  heard  us  down  in  the  village.  After 
it  was  quiet  again  I  saw  Skinny  whispering  some- 
thing to  Bill.  Bill  nodded  his  head  and  passed  it 
on  to  Hank,  and  finally  it  came  to  Benny  and  me, 
who  sat  at  the  end  of  the  line.  We  nodded  and 
began  to  creep  nearer  the  fire  while  waiting  for 
the  signal. 

"  Caw ! "  yelled  Skinny,  all  of  a  sudden,  like 
you  sometimes  hear  a  big  crow  in  the  Bellows  Pipe. 

As  he  yelled,  he  grabbed  a  burning  brand  out 
of  the  fire,  and  the  rest  of  us  did  the  same.  Then 
we  formed  a  circle  and  danced  a  war  dance  around 


Eagle  Patrol  Joins  the  Scouts       205 

the  Gang,  whlrHng  our  brands  in  the  air  until  the 

sparks   flew   in   the   growing   darkness   and   there 

seemed  to  be  a  ring  of  fire. 

"Shall  we  eat  'em  alive,  my  braves?"  chanted 

Skinny. 

"  No,"  we  shouted.     "  They  are  brothers." 
"  Shall  we  mop  the  earth  with  'em?  " 
"  No,"  we  yelled.     "  They  are  Scouts." 
"What  shall  we  do?"  asked   Skinny,   stopping 

in   front   of  Jim,   who  was  too   surprised  to  say 

anything. 

"  Give  them  the  glad  hand,"  we  answered. 

"  'Tis  well,"  said  he,  grabbing  Jim  by  the  hand, 

while  we  did  the  same  to  the  others. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what,"  said  Mr.   Norton,  a  little 

later.     "  I    feel   so   good   over  this   that   I'll   buy. 

Lead  me  to  a  soda  fountain." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PLANNING  A   CAMPING  TRIP 

WE  boys  often  think  of  what  a  fisherman 
told  us  one  summer  day,  out  on  IlHnois 
River,  at  the  foot  of  Buffalo  Rock. 

"  Play,"  said  he,  "  is  work  that  you  want  to  do 
and  don't  have  to  do,"  or  something  like  that. 

Ma  often  says,  when  she  sees  us  playing,  that 
if  she  should  make  me  work  that  hard  I  would 
think  I  was  abused. 

I  guess,  maybe,  that  is  so.  It  surely  is  some 
work  to  chase  uphill  and  around,  play  ball,  and 
do  all  kinds  of  stunts,  and  sometimes  when  night 
comes  we  feel  tired. 

I  went  home  to  supper  one  day,  all  fagged  out, 
so  tired  I  hardly  could  drag  one  foot  after  the 
other,  and  flopped  down  in  the  nearest  chair. 

Ma  heard  me  and  put  her  head  in  at  the  door. 

"  It  gives  me  pain,"  she  said,  "  to  inform  you 
206 


Planning  a  Camping  Trip  207 

that  the  wooclbox  is  empty  and  I  need  a  hotter  fire 
to  bake  those  biscuits  that  you  Hke  so  well." 

"  Oh,  Ma!  "  I  exclaimed.  "  Can't  you  get  along 
until  morning.     I'm  all  in." 

"  Why,  you  haven't  done  a  thing  to-day !  "  she 
told  me. 

I  had  climbed  up  and  down  Bob's  Hill  six  times; 
been  up  to  Peck's  Falls  and  the  cave  once;  followed 
the  brook  over  rocks  and  fallen  trees  to  where  it 
tumbles  out  of  a  sunshiny  pasture  into  the  shade 
of  the  woods  in  a  great  watery  sheet;  been  swim- 
ming in  the  Basin,  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley; 
played  a  match  game  of  baseball  at  the  Eagle 
ground;  played  Indian  in  Plunkett's  woods,  track- 
ing the  enemy  through  the  forest;  played  foot-and- 
a-half,  until  I  thought  my  back  would  break,  and 
wrestled  with  Skinny,  until  he  fell  on  me  like  a 
thousand  of  brick.  But  I  hadn't  done  anything  all 
day!     Oh,  no! 

"  You  don't  want  me  to  do  it,  do  you  ?  "  she  said. 

Of  course,  I  didn't  want  that;  so,  tired  as  I  was, 
I  dragged  out  to  the  shed  and  brought  in  an  armful 
of  wood. 


2o8  Planning  a  Camping  Trip 

Just  then  I  heard  a  whistle,  followed  by  the 
caw  of  a  crow  from  in  front  of  the  house,  and 
I  chased  out  to  see  what  was  doing. 

It  was  Benny.  He  had  come  over  to  tell  me  thai 
there  would  be  a  Scout  meeting  at  his  house  that 
night. 

"  John's  too  tired,"  Ma  told  him.  "  He  hardly 
was  able  to  bring  in  four  sticks  of  wood." 

"  I  feel  better  now,"  I  hurried  to  say.  *'  The 
exercise  did  me  good.  After  I  have  had  some  of 
your  delicious  biscuits  and  some  honey,  I'll  be  all 
right  again.  Besides,  I'd  hate  to  miss  a  Scout 
meeting;  I  learn  so  much  there.  Will  the  wood 
I  brought  in  last  until  morning?" 

"  I  thought  Mr.  Norton  was  away  ? "  she 
said. 

"  He  is ;  but  they  are  going  to  have  a  meeting, 
anyhow." 

"  Oh,  please  let  him  go,  Mrs.  Smith,"  put  in 
Benny.  "  Pedro  is  our  secretary.  We  can't  have 
the  meeting  without  him." 

Ma  likes  Benny  so  well  I  just  knew  she  would 
have  to  give  in.     She  knew  it,  too,  I  guess,  for  she 


Planning  a  Camping  Trip  209 

looked  at  us  a  minute,  sort  of  smiling  to  herself; 
then  she  said: 

"  Well,  if  he  will  come  home  at  nine  o'clock  and 
promise  to  take  a  nap  to-morrow  afternoon,  I'll 
let  him  go.  He  has  been  losing  too  much  sleep 
lately." 

I  didn't  think  much  of  that  nap  business.  Day- 
time wasn't  made  to  sleep  in,  except,  maybe, 
the  early  morning  hours  when  you  first  wake 
up. 

"  I'll  promise  to  lie  down  and  shut  my  eyes,"  I 
told  her,  "  but  I  can't  promise  to  take  a  nap,  can 
I  ?     The  sleep  may  not  come." 

That  is  true.  I've  laid  awake  a  lot  of  times  fif- 
teen or  twenty  minutes  and  maybe  more,  at  night, 
trying  hard  to  go  to  sleep  and  not  feeling  a  bit 
sleepy. 

That  is  why  I  was  in  bed  when  Skinny  came 
around  the  next  afternoon.  He  knew  that  I  would 
be,  and  instead  of  coming  into  the  back  yard  and 
up  on  the  stoop,  as  he  usually  does,  he  went  up  the 
drive  between  our  house  and  Phillips'  and  whistled 
softly  under  my  window. 


2IO  Planning  a  Camping  Trip 

With  one  bound  I  was  out  of  bed  and  looking 
down  at  him.  He  had  on  his  Scout  uniform,  and 
his  rope  was  wound  around  his  shoulders. 

I  was  just  going  to  tell  him  to  wait  until  I 
could  come  downstairs,  when  he  put  one  finger  to 
his  lips,  then  looked  up  and  down  the  drive  to  see 
who  was  watching.  There  was  nobody  in  sight. 
Ma  was  taking  a  nap  in  her  room  and  I  guess  Mrs. 
Phillips  was,  too,  across  the  way. 

"  S-s-t !  "  he  hissed.     "  Are  you  alone?  " 

I  nodded.  It  didn't  seem  safe  to  say  any- 
thing. 

"  You  ain't  chained  to  the  bed,  or  nothin',  are 
you?" 

"  Nary  a  chain,"  I  told  him.  "  We  are  all  out 
of  chains." 

"  'Tis  well !  "  said  he,  coiling  up  the  rope  in  one 
hand  and  getting  ready  to  throw.  "  Quick,  now, 
and  mum's  the  word !  " 

I  caught  the  rope  as  it  came  in  through  the 
window  and  fastened  one  end  to  the  bed.  Then 
T  threw  out  the  other  end,  climbed  out  myself,  and 
shinned  down. 


Planning  a  Camping  Trip  211 

"  What's  the  matter?  "  I  asked,  as  soon  as  I  had 
reached  the  ground. 

"  Let's  go  around  and  untie  the  rope;  then  I'll 
tell  you." 

A  few  minutes  later  he  was  showing  me  a  letter 
which  he  had  from  Mr.  Norton,  who  was  away  on 
business.     This  is  what  the  letter  said : 

"  Dear  Fellows  : — I  shall  be  at  home  in  a  few 
days  and  should  like  to  have  a  meeting  of  Raven 
Patrol  to  talk  up  our  camping  trip.  Are  you 
thinking  about  it  and  planning  where  to  go?  The 
pasture  above  Peck's  Falls  would  make  an  ideal 
camp.  There  is  water  and  sunshine  and  shade  and 
old  Greylock.  That  would  suit  me  pretty  well,  but 
it  is  so  near  home  it  might  not  suit  you.  If  not, 
I  have  a  regular  trip  over  the  mountain  in  mind, 
one  that  will  take  a  hike  of  several  days  to  get  us 
there.  Talk  it  over  among  yourselves  and  ask  your 
folks  about  it.  Then  meet  at  my  house  next  Sat- 
urday night.  We'll  decide  the  matter  and  begin 
to  get  ready.     Yours  sincerely, 

"  Charles  Norton,  Scoutmaster." 


212  Planning  a  Camping  Trip 

"Ain't  he  a  brick?"  said  Skinny,  when  he  had 
finished  reading.     "  What  do  you  say,  old  Scout?  " 

"  I  say  hike,"  I  told  him.  "  That  pasture  above 
Peck's  Falls  is  where  Tom  Chapin  tried  to  paralyze 
a  bull  by  the  power  of  the  human  eye,  like  the 
school  reader  says,  and  got  thrown  over  the  stone 
wall  by  the  critter.     No  more  of  that  for  muh !  " 

"  We'd  have  a  rope  along,  you  know." 

"  Yes,  and  who'd  tie  it  and  what  would  the  bull 
be  doing  all  that  time  ?  " 

"  I'd  rather  go  over  the  mountain  on  a  hike,  my- 
self," he  said.  "  Come  on,  let's  ask  the  other 
boys." 

"  Wait  a  minute  while  I  fill  the  woodbox,"  I  told 
him. 

Skinny  helped  me  do  that  and  we  were  soon  on 
our  way. 

The  other  boys  felt  just  as  we  did  about  it.  Of 
course,  it  is  always  fun  to  be  near  our  cave  and 
it  is  a  fine  place  to  get  into  when  it  rains,  but  we 
could  go  there  any  old  timiC. 

The  folks  seemed  to  think  near  home  would  be 
better,  until  we  told  them  about  the  bull  and  how 


Planning  a  Camping  Trip  213 

near  we  all  came  to  getting  killed.  They  had  for- 
gotten about  that  and  so  had  we,  almost. 

Finally  Pa  settled  it  for  me. 

"  I  am  willing  to  leave  it  to  Mr.  Norton,"  he 
said.  "  As  long  as  he  goes  with  you  I  don't  care 
much  where  you  go,  for  I  know  that  he  will  take 
as  good  care  of  you  as  I  could  myself.  His  hold 
on  you  boys  is  remarkable  and  I  am  willing  to  back 
him  in  anything  that  he  wants  to  do.  I'll  say  this 
much,  however.  He  is  going  to  have  his  hands  full 
when  he  undertakes  to  look  after  you  boys  for  a 
week  or  two  at  a  time." 

We  hardly  could  wait  until  Saturday  night  to 
hear  Mr.  Norton's  plan  and  decide  what  to  do. 

He  seemed  glad  to  see  us  when  the  time  came, 
only  he  wouldn't  hurry  the  meeting  or  leave  any- 
thing out.  Skinny,  being  patrol  leader,  always 
acted  as  chairman  and  pounded  the  table,  when 
he  could  find  one  to  pound. 

"  The  meetin'  will  come  to  order,"  said  he,  look- 
ing around  for  something  to  thump  and  not  find- 
ing anything  but  Bill  Wilson,  who  dodged  out  of 
the  way. 


214  Planning  a  Camping  Trip 

"  The  secretary  will  call  the  roll." 

I  called  the  names  of  the  boys,  and  each  one  in 
turn  arose  and  gave  the  Scout  salute,  first  to  Mr. 
Norton,  then  to  Skinny. 

"  Is  there  any  business  to  come  before  this  'ere 
meetin'  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Mr.  President,"  I  said,  jumping  up. 

"  The  gentleman  from  Park  Street,"  said  Skinny, 
as  big  as  life,  just  as  Pa  had  taught  us  to  do  at 
meetings  in  our  barn. 

"  We  have  with  us  this  evening  our  Scoutmastei, 
who,  I  think,  has  something  to  say." 

"  'Tis  well,"  said  Skinny.  "  We'll  harken  unto 
his  words  of  wisdom." 

"  Before  I  speak  the  words  of  wisdom  which 
our  patrol  leader  has  so  kindly  mentioned,"  laughed 
Mr.  Norton,  "  I  will  ask  Mrs.  Norton  to  refresh 
and  fortify  us  with  some  lemonade." 

Benny  reached  the  door  almost  as  soon  as  she  did. 

"  Let  me  do  it,  Mrs.  Norton,"  he  said. 

He  grabbed  the  pitcher  and  tray  and  poured  out 
a  glass  for  her;  then  went  around  the  circle.  It 
tasted  fine  on  a  warm  night. 


Planning  a  Camping  Trip  215 

"  Mr.  Chairman,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  after  we  had 
emptied  the  pitcher.  "  I  want  to  call  up  the  ques- 
tion of  our  camping  trip.  Have  you  boys  thought 
about  the  matter?  " 

"  We  haven't  thought  of  much  else,"  Hank  told 
him. 

"  Well,  how  about  it  ?  Shall  we  camp  out  above 
Peck's  Falls?     What  do  you  say,  William?" 

"  It's  too  near  home,"  said  Bill.  "  Ma  would 
gtt  scared  the  first  night  and  call  me  back." 

"  That  certainly  would  be  serious.  What  do 
you  say,  Mr.  Secretary?" 

"  I  say  so,  too,"  I  told  him.  "  It's  fine  up  there 
and  wild  and  all  that,  but  let's  go  where  we  never 
have  been  before." 

"  How  about  it,  Mr.  President  ?  " 

**^It's  me  for  the  hike,"  said  Skinny. 

The  other  boys  all  said  the  same. 

"  It  seems  to  be  unanimous,"  said  Mr,  Norton. 
"  I  thought  that  probably  you  would  feel  that  way. 
Well,  this  is  what  I  have  in  mind,  in  case  you  de- 
cide to  take  the  trip,  instead  of  remaining  near 
home.     What  do  you  say  to  hiking  straight  east 


2i6  Planning  a  Camping  Trip 

over  Florida  Mountain,  as  far  as  Deerfield  and  the 
Connecticut  River?  We  can  get  a  horse  and  carry 
our  camping  outfit  and  supplies  in  a  wagon.  We 
can  take  turns  driving.  It  will  rest  us,  and  if  any- 
body should  give  out  the  wagon  will  come  in  handy. 
We  can  take  as  long  a  time  as  we  want  on  the 
way,  camping  out  each  night." 

Mr.  Norton  stopped  and  looked  at  us  to  see  how 
we  liked  the  plan.  Say,  it  didn't  take  him  long 
to  find  out.  Every  boy  jumped  to  his  feet  and 
shouted.  Skinny  forgot  that  he  was  chairman  and 
started  to  march  around  the  room,  shooting  and 
striking  at  the  enemy,  and  we  all  fell  in  line  after 
him  except  Bill.  He  stood  on  his  hands,  kicked 
his  feet  in  the  air,  and  whistled  through  his 
teeth. 

Mr.  Norton  looked  pleased. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,"  he  said,  as  soon  as  we  had 
taken  our  places  again.  "  I  hardly  think  it  nec- 
essary to  put  that  to  a  vote  except,  perhaps,  as  a 
matter  of  form.  The  next  question  is,  will  your 
folks  let  you  go?  Sometimes  fathers  and  mothers 
have  very  decided  notions  about  what  they  want 


Planning  a  Camping  Trip  217 

their  boys  to  do  and  more  especially  what  they 
don't  want  them  to  do." 

I  told  him  what  Pa  had  said  about  being  willing 
to  have  us  go  anywhere  with  him,  and  the 
other  boys  said  that  their  folks  felt  the  same 
way. 

"  Good !  We'll  consider  that  settled  and  get 
down  to  details  as  quickly  as  possible.  I  should 
like  to  get  started  in  about  two  weeks,  which  will 
be  early  in  August.  We'll  call  another  meeting 
in  a  few  days  and  I'll  have  a  list  of  the  articles 
needed  and  their  cost  ready  to  submit  to  you.  I 
know  where  we  can  get  tents,  but  there  are  a  whole 
lot  of  things  we  shall  need  in  the  woods,  besides 
things  to  eat.  Is  there  any  more  business  to  come 
before  the  meeting,  Mr.  Chairman?" 

"  There  is,"  said  Skinny,  who  had  been  scribbling 
something  on  a  piece  of  paper.  He  handed  it  to  me 
to  read,  and  this  is  what  it  said : 

"  Resolved,  that  Mr.  Norton  is  great  stuff." 

"  All  that  are  in  favor  of  the  motion  salute  the 
Scoutmaster." 

That  ended  the  meeting.     We  had  to  have  sev- 


2i8  Planning  a  Camping  Trip 

eral  more  like  it  before  we  could  get  everything 
ready  for  the  trip. 

"  It  is  early  yet,"  said  Mr.  Norton.  "  If  you 
would  like  to  have  me,  I'll  tell  you  a  story  about 
what  I  think  was  one  of  the  greatest  scouting  trips 
ever  undertaken." 


CHAPTER  XV 

SCOUTING  IN  THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST 

**  ^^  OME  of  you  boys  went  out  to  Illinois,  last 

)^^^  summer,"  he  began.  "  Did  you  go  as  far 
as  the  Mississippi  River?" 

"  No,  but  we  camped  out  on  the  Illinois  River," 
I  told  him,  "  and  that  flows  into  the  Mississippi." 

"  We  explored,"  explained  Benny,  "  just  like 
LaSalle  and  Tonty  and  the  other  guys  did.  Skinny 
was  LaSalle  and  I  was  Tonty." 

"  LaSalle  and  Tonty  were  great  scouts.  Do  you 
remember  when  they  made  those  early  explora- 
tions ?  " 

"  I  think  it  was  somewhere  around  1680  or 
1681,"  said  Skinny,  who  was  always  good  in  his- 
tory. "  Mr.  Baxter  told  us  all  about  it  while  we 
were  sitting  on  top  of  Starved  Rock,  where  LaSalle 
once  had  a  fort." 

"  There  was  a  great  country  west  of  the  Missis- 
219 


220     Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest 

sippi,  about  which  LaSalle  knew  very  Httle,  al- 
though when  he  explored  the  river  he  took  posses- 
sion of  the  land  in  the  name  of  his  king,  and  he 
called  the  country  Louisiana. 

"  At  that  time,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  fur 
traders  and  missionaries,  all  the  people  who  came 
to  America  from  the  Old  World  settled  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  and  the  Great  Lakes,  in  various  col- 
onies. Some  of  these  afterward  became  the  thir-' 
teen  original  states  of  the  United  States  of  America, 

"  After  Thomas  Jefferson  became  president,  he 
had  a  chance  to  buy  Louisiana  of  Napoleon,  who 
was  then  at  the  head  of  the  French  government, 
and  he  did  so." 

"  Huh !  Napoleon !  "  said  Skinny.  "  George 
Washington  could  lick " 

"Aw,  ferget  it,  can't  you?"  said  Bill.  "You 
are  stopping  the  story." 

"  That  gave  us  a  vast  territory,  reaching  from 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  No- 
body knew  very  much  about  it,  or  about  the  country 
west  of  the  Rockies.  Jefferson  may  have  been 
looking   far  into  the   future  when   he  made  the 


Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest    221 

Louisiana  purchase,  but  probably  his  more  imme- 
diate purpose  was  to  secure  undisputed  possession 
of  the  wonderful  Mississippi  River. 

"  That  was  in  1804,  only  a  little  more  than  a 
lifetime  ago  and  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  after 
LaSalle  explored  the  river  and  took  possession  of 
the  country.  Little,  if  anything,  was  known  about 
the  country  at  the  time  of  its  purchase  by  the  United 
States  more  than  was  known  in  LaSalle's  time.  A 
few  hardy  traders  went  up  and  down  the  river, 
buying  furs  of  friendly  Indians,  and  that  was 
all. 

**  Naturally,  after  Jefferson  had  bought  it,  he 
wanted  to  know  something  about  his  purchase.  So 
he  appointed  two  men  to  explore  the  new  country. 
I  want  you  to  remember  their  names,  because  they 
did  a  great  work.  One  was  Meriwether  Lewis  and 
the  other  William  Clark,  and  you  will  find  their 
trip  described  in  your  school  history  as  '  the  Lewis 
and  Clark  expedition.'  I  can't  see  why  their  ex- 
ploration was  not  attended  by  as  much  danger  and 
hardship  as  LaSalle's,  which  had  been  undertaken 
so  many  years  before.     The  dense  forests  and  great 


222    Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest 

rivers  of  the  West  were  all  unknown  and  there  were 
many  hostile  Indians. 

"  What  did  you  boys  do,  when  you  made  up  your 
minds  to  explore  the  rivers  in  Illinois  last  sum- 
mer ?  " 

"  We  built  a  boat,"  Hank  told  him. 

"  Exactly.  And  that  was  what  Lewis  and  Clark 
did,  or,  rather,  it  was  done  for  them  at  Government 
expense.  A  keel  boat,  fifty-five  feet  long  and  draw- 
ing not  more  than  three  feet  of  water,  was  made 
for  them  at  Pittsburgh,  where,  if  you  remember, 
two  rivers  unite  to  form  the  Ohio.  This  boat  had 
places  for  twenty-two  oarsmen  and  carried  a  large, 
square  sail.  Steamboats  were  not  known  in  those 
days,  although  a  few  years  afterward  Robert  Ful- 
ton ran  one  on  Hudson  River.  The  Government 
also  provided  two  smaller  boats  and  loaded  them 
with  coffee,  sugar,  crackers,  dried  meats,  carpen- 
ter's tools,  presents  for  the  Indians,  and  things  like 
that.  A  few  horses  also  were  taken  along  in  the 
large  boat. 

"  The  leaders  selected  a  crew  of  twenty-five  men, 
and  one  fine  day  the  whole  outfit  started  down  the 


Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest     223 

Ohio  River.  When  they  reached  the  Mississippi 
they  turned  north  and  soon  made  their  way  up 
the  great  river  to  St.  Louis.  St.  Louis  was  a 
French  trading  station  then.  Now  it  is  a  large 
city.  A  few  years  ago  the  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  Louisiana  purchase  was  celebrated  by  holding 
a  world's  fair  in  St.  Louis. 

"  There  more  men  joined  the  expedition  and 
considerable  information  that  President  Jefferson 
wanted  was  picked  up  about  the  Indian  tribes  who 
lived  up  and  down  the  river. 

"  Finally,  May  14,  1804,  the  explorers  started  on 
the  real  trip.  It  wasn't  easy  work  any  longer,  for 
they  had  to  row  against  the  mighty  current  of  the 
Mississippi.  After  they  had  gone  a  few  miles  they 
came  to  another  great  river,  which  was  pouring  a 
dirty  looking,  yellow  flood  into  the  Mississippi. 
Who  can  tell  me  what  that  river  was  ?  " 

"  The  Missouri,"  said  Benny,  who  had  been 
studying  about  it  In  school.  "  The  Mississippi 
River,  with  its  principal  tributary,  the  Missouri,  is 
the  longest  river  in  the  world." 

"  Right  you  are.     If  you  will  look  on  some  map 


224    Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest 

you  will  see  how  it  is  possible  to  go  in  a  boat  from 
Pittsburgh  almost  across  the  continent.  Levvis  and 
Clark  turned  into  the  Missouri  and  started  for  the 
then  unknown  Northwest.  They  made  their  way 
along  very  slowly,  for  the  river  was  swollen  with 
heavy  rains  and  the  current  was  very  strong. 

"  After  much  labor  and  hardship  they  managed 
to  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Osage  River.  There 
they  went  into  camp  and  sent  out  an  armed  party 
to  explore  the  interior.  When  the  party  returned 
they  brought  back  ten  deer  and  all  had  a  great 
feast  on  the  river  bank. 

"  Once  more  they  breasted  the  fierce  current, 
narrowly  escaping  shipwreck  several  times.  Once 
the  wind  was  so  strong  that  they  were  obliged  to 
anchor  and  go  ashore.  Again  they  had  to  pull 
their  boats  along  with  ropes  through  some  rapids." 

"  Betcher  life  they  didn't  go  without  a  rope," 
said  Skinny.     "Why " 

Somebody  threw  a  sofa  pillow  just  then  and  it 
struck  exactly  where  his  face  happened  to  be.  Be- 
fore he  could  find  out  who  did  it  Mr.  Norton  went 
on. 


Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest    225 

"  At  last  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas 
River.  A  large  city  stands  there  now.  Does 
anybody  know  the  name  of  it?  " 

*'  That  is  too  far  from  home,"  said  Benny.  "  I 
know  what  city  is  at  the  mouth  of  Hoosac  River. 
There  ain't  any." 

"  Kansas  City  now  stands  where  they  went 
into  camp.  They  divided  into  two  parties. 
One  went  out  after  game,  so  that  there  should 
be  plenty  to  eat,  and  the  other  explored  the 
country." 

"  It's  fun  to  explore,"  said  Bill. 

"  Probably  these  men  found  a  certain  pleasure 
in  it,  notwithstanding  the  hardships.  They  were 
seeing  something  new  every  day.  After  a  time 
they  started  once  more  and  late  in  July  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Platte  River.  They  had  heard 
that  a  tribe  of  Indians  were  living  near  there,  so 
Lewis  and  Clark  went  out  with  a  party  to  find 
them  and  tell  them  that  the  country  now  belonged 
to  the  Great  Father  at  Washington.  Under  some 
bluffs,  opposite  the  present  city  of  Omaha,  they 
sat  in  council  with  the  Indians,  made  them  gifts, 


226    Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest 

and  smoked  the  peace  pipe.  The  Indians  didn't 
seem  to  care  who  owned  the  country  so  long  as 
they  received  presents  and  had  room  enough  to 
hunt.  A  city  now  stands  on  those  bluffs  where  the 
Indian  council  was  held.  I  guess  you  can  tell  me 
the  name  of  that  one." 

"  Council  Bluffs,"  said  two  or  three  of  us  at  the 
same  time. 

"  Then  on  went  the  explorers  up  the  river, 
through  a  wonderful  countr}^  Vast  prairies,  cov- 
ered with  grass  and  without  any  trees,  stretched 
away  in  every  direction,  as  far  as  they  could  see, 
and  great  herds  of  buffalo  roamed  up  and  down. 
On  they  went,  through  what  is  now  Nebraska;  then 
through  South  Dakota;  then,  North  Dakota,  where 
some  fierce  Indians  dwelt.  Another  council  was 
held  and  more  presents  were  given.  When  the  boat 
was  about  to  put  off  after  this  council,  the  Indians 
grabbed  hold  of  the  cable  and  held  it.  They 
wouldn't  let  go." 

"  Great  snakes !  "  said  Bill.  "  I'll  bet  they  didn't 
do  a  thing  to  those  Injuns.  I'll  bet  they  paralyzed 
them.     They  had  guns,  didn't  they?" 


Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest     227 

"  Yes,  and  they  did  sort  of  paralyze  the  savages, 
I  guess. 

" '  Take  aim  but  don't  fire,'  Lewis  told  his  men. 

"  The  next  second  those  Indians  were  looking 
into  the  muzzles  of  about  twenty-five  guns." 

"That's  the  stuff!"  shouted  Skinny,  swinging 
his  arms  and  then  pretending  to  shoot.  "  Did  they 
kill  them  all?" 

*'  I  am  afraid  that  you  boys  are  a  little  blood- 
thirsty," said  Mr.  Norton.  "  They  didn't  shoot  at 
all.  When  the  Indians  saw  the  pointed  guns  they 
dropped  the  cable  and  pretended  that  all  they 
wanted  was  to  do  some  more  trading.  The  white 
men  were  glad  enough  to  let  it  go  at  that  and  get 
away  as  quickly  as  possible. 

"  It  soon  became  necessary  to  go  into  camp  for 
the  winter.  An  island  in  the  river  was  chosen 
for  the  purpose  and  they  spent  the  winter  there. 
The  Indians  in  the  vicinity  proved  to  be  friendly. 
They  never  had  seen  white  men  before,  possibly 
that  was  the  reason.  Some  of  the  things  which 
are  very  common  to  us  seemed  wonderful  to  them. 
Do  you  remember  how  I  lighted  the  fire  one  day, 


228     Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest 

when  we  wanted  to  cook  dinner  on  Bob's  Hill  and 
had  forgotten  the  matches  ?  " 

"  With  a  sunglass,"   I  told  him, 

"  Well,  that  didn't  seem  very  astonishing  to  us 
because  we  were  used  to  it,  but  the  Indians  had 
never  seen  a  sunglass.  They  started  their  fires  by 
rubbing  two  sticks  together.  Even  the  whites  had 
to  use  a  flint  and  steel,  for  the  art  of  making  matches 
hadn't  been  discovered.  Captain  Clark  carried  a 
sunglass  in  his  pocket.  One  day  he  went  to  an 
Indian  village,  intending  to  smoke  a  peace  pipe 
with  the  chief.  As  he  was  entering  the  village,  he 
saw  some  wild  geese  flying  over  and  shot  one.  The 
Indians  heard  what  seemed  to  be  thunder  and  saw 
the  goose  fall,  and  it  scared  them.  They  ran  into 
their  wigwams  and  closed  the  skin  doors.  Soon 
after  Captain  Clark  came  up  to  the  wigwam  of  the 
chief,  without  thinking  he  was  doing  anything  out 
of  the  ordinary,  he  pulled  out  his  sunglass  and 
lighted  his  pipe  with  it. 

"  The  frightened  Indians  were  peeking  out  of 
their  wigwams,  and  when  they  saw  the  white  man 
start  a  blaze  in  his  pipe  by  holding  up  one  hand, 


Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest    229 

they  felt  sure  that  he  was  a  spirit.  The  Redskins 
gave  one  yell  and  ran  into  the  woods.  It  was  a 
long  time  before  they  could  be  made  to  under- 
stand. 

"  Spring  came  at  last  and  the  impatient  party 
started  up  the  river  again.  The  way  grew  more 
and  more  difficult.  They  were  now  a  long  distance 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  the  water  was 
shallow  in  places  and  filled  with  dangerous  rocks. 
Often  they  had  to  get  out  and  wade,  pulling  the 
boats  along  by  the  cables. 

"  May  26  they  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow- 
stone River  and  for  the  first  time  saw  the  Rocky 
Mountains  in  the  distance,  covered  with  snow  and 
looking  very  grand.  They  were  then  in  Montana, 
or  what  we  now  call  Montana. 

"  In  June  they  heard  the  roaring  of  a  cataract, 
and  Lewis  started  out  afoot  to  find  it.  After  he 
had  traveled  for  hours  he  climbed  a  cliff  and  at 
last  looked  down  upon  the  cataract.  So  far  as  we 
know  he  was  the  first  white  man  who  had  ever 
seen  it,  although  thousands  see  it  every  year  now. 
The  cascades  of  the  Missouri  stretch  for  thirteen 


230    Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest 

miles,  with  foaming  rapids  between.  It  is  a  great 
sight." 

"  Gee,  Peck's  Falls  ain't  in  it,"  said  Skinny. 
"Did  he  find  a  cave?" 

"  History  fails  to  mention  a  cave.  Lewis  went 
back  and  ordered  the  boats  to  proceed  up  the  river 
as  far  as  the  first  rapids.  The  question  was,  how 
to  get  around  those  cascades.  They  couldn't  go 
up  the  river,  so  they  had  to  get  the  boats  around 
in  some  way.  Their  horses  had  died  during  the 
winter.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  drag  the 
boats  around  eighteen  miles.  The  men  went  to 
work  and  made  rough  carts,  felled  trees,  cleared 
away  bushes,  dug  out  rocks,  leveled  off  the  ground, 
and  pulled,  pushed,  and  struggled  on,  until  at  last 
the  work  was  accomplished  and  the  boats  were 
launched  again  in  the  river  above  the  rapids. 

"  But  soon  the  river  became  too  shallow  for  the 
large  boat  and  they  had  to  stop  again.  Then  they 
cut  down  trees  and  made  '  dugouts.'  They  pad- 
dled on  until  finally  they  came  to  a  most  wonderful 
place.  We  think  that  the  ravine  below  Peck's  Falls 
and  that  at  the  Basin  are  grand  and  beautiful,  and 


Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest     231 

so  they  are,  but  they  found  a  great  canyon,  whose 
walls  in  places  were  a  thousand  feet  high. 

"  Beyond  this  canyon  they  could  not  go  in  their 
boats,  for  they  were  at  the  foot  of  the  first  range 
of  the  Rockies.  They  had  to  leave  their  boats  there 
and  climb.  But,  first,  Lewis  started  out  alone  to 
find  some  Indians  for  guides. 

"  The  brave  man  made  his  way  to  the  top  of  the 
ridge  and  looked  down  into  the  valley  beyond.  In 
that  valley  flowed  a  river,  and  far  up  the  stream 
he  could  see  an  Indian  village.  It  was  the  home 
of  the  Shoshones.  He  managed  to  reach  the  vil- 
lage, and  by  offering  presents  induced  some  of  the 
Indians  to  go  back  with  him,  bringing  horses,  and 
to  guide  his  men  across  the  mountains. 

"  The  trip  was  a  very  perilous  one,  even  with 
guides,  and  it  took  them  a  whole  month  to  cross. 
Up,  up  they  climbed,  so  high  that  they  could  not 
find  any  game  to  shoot.  One  by  one,  the  horses 
died  from  exhaustion,  and  the  starving  men  ate  the 
flesh  to  keep  themselves  alive. 

"  After  terrible  hardships,  they  finally  left  the 
mountains  behind  and   came  upon  streams   which 


232     Scouting  in  the  Great  Northwest 

flowed  toward  the  west.  Here  they  rested,  secured 
a  new  supply  of  food,  built  new  boats,  and  then, 
when  all  was  ready,  paddled  down  the  Lewis  and 
Clark  rivers  into  the  broad  Columbia,  which,  as 
you  know,  pours  its  waters  into  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
They  had  crossed  the  entire  country  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  the  Pacific,  and  made  the  whole  trip  by 
water  except  that  terrible  journey  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

"  It  was  now  November  and  they  were  forced 
to  go  into  camp  once  more  to  spend  the  winter 
months.  In  the  spring  they  started  on  the  long 
journey  home  again  and  at  last  reached  Washing- 
ton, where  they  told  the  President  about  the  vast 
Northwest  and  what  a  great  country  he  had  pur- 
chased from  France." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  let's  do,"  said  Benny,  after 
Mr.  Norton  had  finished.  "  When  we  start  on  our 
trip  let's  play  we  are  Lewis  and  Clark  'sploring  the 
country." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CLOUDBURST    ON    GREYLOCK 

SKINNY  says  that  if  they  would  let  him  run 
the  weather  he  wouldn't  have  it  rain  daytimes 
during  vacation.  All  of  us  Boy  Scouts  feel  that 
way,  too,  because,  what's  the  use?  The  days  are 
made  for  boys  to  have  fun  in  and  the  nights  are 
made  to  sleep.  So,  why  not  have  it  rain  nights 
when  folks  are  sleeping? 

Anyhow,  it  rained  that  August  as  we  never  had 
seen  it  rain  before  and  never  want  to  see  it  again. 
It  began  in  the  night,  all  right,  just  like  rain  ought 
to  do,  but  it  didn't  stop.  When  day  came  it  seemed 
to  take  a  fresh  start  and  kept  going.  It  rained  all 
day  long  and  we  couldn't  have  any  fun  at  all. 
When  it  came  time  to  go  to  bed  it  quit  for  a  spell, 
but  it  started  up  again  before  morning.  It  wasn't 
any  drizzle,  either.  It  came  down  in  bucketfuls, 
until  I  thought  the  village  would  be  washed  away 

and  that  even  Bob's  Hill  would  float  off. 

233 


i234  Cloudburst  on  Greylock 

Along  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  it  let  up, 
and  pretty  soon,  who  should  come  along  but  Skinny 
and  Bill,  barefooted  and  with  old  clothes  on.  They 
were  worried  about  the  cave,  and  so  was  I.  While 
it  was  raining  so  hard  I  thought  about  it  a  lot. 

You  see,  our  cave  Is  a  little  below  Peck's  Falls, 
on  the  bank  of  the  brook.  There  are  two  en- 
trances. One  goes  in  from  the  top  on  the  upper 
side.  You  first  go  down  into  a  hole  and  then 
wriggle  through  an  opening,  until  you  come  out 
into  the  real  cave.  We  don't  use  that  one  except 
when  we  want  to  escape  from  the  enemy,  or  some- 
thing like  that. 

The  one  we  use  is  below,  right  at  the  edge  of 
the  water,  and  leads  straight  into  the  real  cave. 
The  floor  of  the  cave  is  even  with  the  water  at 
the  entrance  and  then  slopes  back  a  little  out  of 
the  wet. 

Once  a  flood  filled  the  cave  and  nearly  drowned 
us.  We  should  have  been  drowned,  if  Tom  Chapin 
hadn't  been  with  us.  He  dove  down  through  the 
hole  into  the  upper  cave  and  then  pulled  us  through 
after  him.     After  that  we  built  a  dam  so  that  it 


Cloudburst  on  Greylock  235 

would  not  happen  again.  I  told  all  about  that  once 
in  the  doings  of  the  Band.  What  we  were  worry- 
ing about  was  the  dam's  giving  way. 

Almost  always  in  summer  the  brook  is  fine.  It 
pours  a  clear  stream  down  over  the  rocks  and  kind 
of  talks  to  us  and  sings,  so  that  we  like  to  be  in 
the  cave  and  listen  to  it.  But  sometimes  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  when  the  snow  on  the  mountain 
is  melting  and  old  winter  is  running  away  into  the 
valley,  and  sometimes  after  very  hard  rains,  the 
water  roars  over  the  falls  and  then  dashes  down 
through  the  gulch  and  over  the  rocks  below,  like 
some  wild  beast.  At  those  times,  it  is  a  good  place 
to  keep  away  from,  unless  you  have  a  dam  or  a 
cave  that  needs  looking  after. 

"  Get  your  hat,  Pedro,  and  come  on,"  said  Skinny. 
"  We  want  to  see  about  the  dam.  If  it  washes  out 
the  water  will  fill  our  cave." 

"And  bring  a  shovel,"  added  Bill.  "We'd 
brought  one,  only  your  house  is  so  much  nearer," 

"  All  right,"  I  told  them.  "  Whistle  for  Benny, 
while  I'm  getting  it." 

The  four  of  us  went  up  through  the  orchard 


236  Cloudburst  on  Greylock 

and  took  the  road  around  the  hill  to  the  top  be- 
cause the  rain  had  made  it  too  slippery  to  climb 
straight  up.  We  knew  by  the  roaring  of  the  water, 
long  before  we  came  in  sight,  that  Peck's  Falls 
were  going  it  for  all  they  were  worth. 

When  we  finally,  one  after  another,  crept  out  on 
the  ledge  of  Pulpit  Rock,  in  front  of  the  falls,  the 
sight  almost  scared  us.  It  was  great,  the  way  the' 
water  came  down,  fairly  jumping  from  rock  to 
rock,  until  with  a  final  leap  and  roar,  it  plunged,  all 
white  and  foaming,  into  an  angry  pool  below;  then 
dashed  off,  with  a  snarl,  through  the  ravine. 

"  Gee-whillikens !  "  said  Skinny.  "  Those  are 
some  falls,  all  right.  How'd  you  like  to  go  in 
swimming?" 

*'  It  would  just  about  use  a  fellow  up  to  go 
through  there,"  I  told  him.  "  Boost  me  up  so  that 
I  can  look  down  at  the  cave." 

"We'll  boost  Benny,"  he  said.  "He  isn't  so 
heavy." 

The  pulpit  part  reaches  up  several  feet  above 
the  narrow  ledge  like  a  wall,  and  back  of  it  there 
is  a  straight  drop,  a  hundred  feet  or  more  down. 


Cloudburst  on  Greylock  237 

"  The  cave  is  all  right,  I  guess,"  Benny  told  us, 
when  we  had  held  him  up  so  that  he  could  see  over 
without  getting  dizzy.  "  I  can  see  where  the  upper 
entrance  is,  but,  say,  the  brook  is  fierce." 

We  crept  oflF  from  the  rock  and  made  our  way 
carefully  down  the  side  of  the  ravine  to  the  cave. 

It  was  as  Benny  had  said.  The  dam  had  held 
and  was  keeping  the  water  from  flooding  the  cave. 
The  upper  entrance  was  all  right,  although  it  was 
too  muddy  to  use.  The  water  had  backed  up 
around  the  lower  entrance  and  part  way  into  the 
cave,  but  beyond  it  was  dry. 

The  little  mountain  brook  had  turned  into  a  tor- 
rent, raging  along  like  some  wild  beast,  and  foam- 
ing over  the  rocks  below,  almost  like  Peck's  Falls. 
Just  above  these  smaller  falls,  a  tree,  which  had 
been  carried  down  into  the  ravine,  stretched  across 
the  stream  from  rock  to  rock,  with  its  slippery  trunk 
about  two  feet  above  the  water. 

"  I  guess  everything  is  all  right,"  said  Skinny, 
"  but  maybe  we'd  better  fix  the  dam  a  little.  Gee, 
but  it's  getting  dark  in  here." 

We  worked  a  few  minutes,  throwing  rocks  and 


238  Cloudburst  on  Greylock 

dirt  against  the  dam.  I  had  just  stood  off  to  say 
that  I  thought  it  would  hold  now,  when  Skinny 
gave  an  awful  yell  and  slipped  off  from  a  rock,  on 
which  he  had  been  standing,  into  the  flood. 

I  made  a  grab  for  him  and  missed,  and  in  a  sec- 
ond he  was  whirled  down  the  stream. 

It  is  queer  how  much  thinking  one  can  do  in  a 
second.  I  thought  of  the  rocks  and  of  the  falls 
below  and  of  how  nobody  could  go  through  with- 
out being  pounded  against  the  stones. 

I  was  afraid  to  look,  until  I  heard  another  yell. 
Then  we  yelled,  too,  for  there  was  Skinny  clinging 
to  the  tree  which  stretched  across  the  stream,  just 
above  the  lower  falls,  and  yelling  to  beat  the  band. 

The  water  pulled  and  tore  at  his  legs,  dragging 
them  under  the  tree  and  to  the  very  edge  of  the 
rock  which  formed  the  falls.  On  his  face  was 
such  a  look,  when  we  came  near,  that  I  knew  he 
could  not  hang  on  much  longer. 

"Hold  on  tight.  Skinny,"  I  called.  "We  are 
coming." 

It  did  not  take  us  long  to  get  there,  but  when 
we  came  opposite  to  where  he  was  hanging  we 


Cloudburst  on  Greylock  239 

could  not  reach  him,  and  the  log  was  too  slippery 
to  walk  on. 

"Can't  you  work  yourself  along  the  tree?"  I 
asked.  "  We  can't  reach,  and  even  if  we  could 
walk  out  I  don't  see  how  we'd  ever  get  back." 

He  shook  his  head  in  despair. 

"  I  can  hardly  hold  on  at  all,"  he  told  us.  "  I'll 
have  to  let  go  in  a  minute,  if  you  don't  do  some- 
thing.    Get  the  rope.     You  always  want  a  rope." 

I  hadn't  thought  of  the  rope  which  we  have 
kept  in  the  cave  since  the  time  I  told  about,  when 
the  flood  came  near  drowning  us. 

Then  Bill,  being  corporal,  pulled  himself  to- 
gether. 

"  Run  to  the  cave  for  the  rope,"  said  he,  "  while 
I  hold  him." 

Before  we  could  say  a  word  or  stop  him,  he 
straddled  the  tree  and  began  to  work  his  way  out, 
hitching  himself  along  with  his  hands. 

"  Run,"  he  yelled  again,  when  he  saw  us  looking 
with  pale  faces.  "  Skinny  saved  me  and  I'll  save 
him,  if  it  takes  a  leg." 

.We  were  halfway  to  the  cave  before  he  had 


240  Cloudburst  on  Greylock 

finished  speaking.  I  helped  Benny  in  through  the 
water,  holding  him  to  make  sure  that  he  wouldn't 
slip,  and  in  two  or  three  seconds  he  was  out  again 
with  the  rope. 

We  found  Bill  clinging  to  the  slippery  tree  with 
both  legs  and  holding  Skinny  by  the  collar  with 
both  hands.  Skinny  had  a  fresh  grip  and  was 
hanging  on  for  all  he  was  worth. 

We  tied  a  slip  noose  in  one  end  of  the  rope  and 
threw  it  to  Bill. 

"  You'll  have  to  let  go  with  one  hand  at  a  time. 
Skinny,"  I  heard  him  say.  "  Wait  until  I  get  a 
better  grip.     Now !  " 

I  saw  Skinny  let  go  for  a  second  with  his  left 
hand.  Bill  hung  to  his  collar  with  one  hand  and 
with  the  other  put  the  loop  over  his  head  and 
under  his  arm.  Then  Skinny  grabbed  hold  again 
and  did  the  same  with  the  other  hand. 

"  Pull  her  tight,  boys.     Easy  now." 

We  pulled  until  the  noose  tightened  under 
Skinny's  shoulders.  Then  we  waded  into  the  water 
as  far  as  we  dared  and  pulled  steadily  on  the  rope. 
Skinny  scrambled  along  through  the  water,  digging 


Cloudburst  on  Greylock  241 

his  finger  nails  into  the  bark,  with  Bill  holding  on 
to  his  collar  as  long  as  he  could  reach. 

By  the  time  we  had  him  out  it  had  grown  so 
dark  that  we  hardly  could  see  Bill,  but  we  knew 
he  was  out  there  because  we  heard  him  say  "  great 
snakes." 

"  Throw  me  the  rope,"  he  called. 

He  put  the  noose  around  his  own  shoulders,  and 
with  our  help  was  soon  standing  on  the  ground. 

"  I  swam  her  all  right,"  said  Skinny,  "  but  I 
hadn't  ought  to  have  done  it.  Ma  told  me  not  ta 
go  swimming  to-day." 

Just  as  he  said  that  something  seemed  to  shut  u( 
in.  The  light  was  blotted  out  and  we  stood  ther? 
in  the  dark,  scared  and  wet,  wondering  what  wa^ 
going  to  happen. 

We  groped  our  way  along  until  we  reached  thi 
cave  and  crawled  in  through  the  water.  I  didnt 
like  to  do  it  because  I  knew  that  if  the  dam  shoiid 
give  way  the  cave  would  be  flooded.  But  we  bid 
made  it  stronger  and  we  had  the  rope  to  clifab 
©ut  by  at  the  upper  hole,  if  the  worst  should  co|  ne. 

The  water  didn't  reach  far  into  the  cave,  i,Ml 


242  Cloudburst  on  Greylock 

soon  we  had  a  light,  for  we  always  keep  candles 
and  matches  there. 

It  didn't  seem  so  scary  when  we  could  see,  sit- 
ting down  together  on  a  piece  of  old  carpet  which 
the  folks  had  given  us,  where  we  had  sat  many 
times  before. 

What  happened  next,  they  say,  was  a  cloudburst. 
Something  burst,  anyhow.  Skinny  had  just 
grinned  and  said  that  he  thought  maybe  it  was 
going  to  rain,  when  it  started. 

And  rain!  Say,  we  never  had  seen  it  rain  be- 
fore. It  came  down  in  chunks  and  pailfuls. 
Pretty  soon  the  water  began  to  creep  farther  into 
the  cave,  and  we  got  out  the  rope  and  made  ready 
to  crawl  through  into  the  other  part,  if  it  should 
come  much  farther. 

But  the  dam  held,  and  there  we  were,  snug  and 
safe,  with  our  candle  throwing  dancing  shadows, 
and  up  against  one  side  of  the  cave,  where  we  had 
hung  it  long  before,  our  motto : 

"  Resolved,  that  the  Boys  of  Bob's  Hill  are  going 
to  make  good." 

Then  we  heard  a  distant  roar,  different  from 


Cloudburst  on  Greylock  243 

anything  we  ever  had  heard  before  and  different 
from  any  other  noise  the  storm  was  making.  It 
scared  us  because  we  couldn't  think  what  It  was. 

"  Gee !  "  said  Skinny.  "  What's  broke  loose, 
now  ?  " 

"  Great  snakes !  "  I  heard  Bill  say.  "  I  wish  I 
hadn't  come." 

Benny  didn't  say  anything,  but  he  grabbed  my 
hand  and  by  the  way  he  hung  on  I  knew  he  was 
doing  a  lot  of  thinking. 

That  roar  seemed  to  be  the  end  of  the  storm, 
for  the  rain  stopped  as  quickly  as  it  had  come.  It 
began  to  grow  light  again  and  somewhere  in  the 
woods  we  heard  a  bird  singing. 

We  were  glad  enough  to  get  out  into  daylight 
once  more  and  make  our  way  back  to  the  road. 

**  Let's  see  what  it  was  that  roared  so,"  I  said. 
"  It  isn't  going  to  rain  any  more  and  Skinny  is 
nearly  dry." 

We  could  see  great  patches  of  blue  sky  and 
knew  that  the  storm  was  over. 

The  roaring  had  seemed  to  come  from  the  moun- 
tain, so  we  climbed  up  the  road  and  went  into  a 


244  Cloudburst  on  Greylock 

field  beyond  the  woods,  from  which  we  usually  can 
see  old  Greylock  looming  up,  only  looking  different, 
it  is  so  near. 

This  time  we  couldn't  see  him  at  all.  The  sky 
was  clear  overhead,  but  clouds  still  hung  about  the 
•mountain,  shutting  him  from  sight. 

Then,  as  we  stood  there,  the  noise  came  again, 
only  worse  this  time,  and  right  in  front  of  us. 
The  ground  seemed  to  tremble  under  our  feet  and 
from  somewhere,  back  of  the  cloud  which  covered 
the  mountainside,  came  a  mighty  roaring  and  grind- 
ing that  was  awful. 

We  stood  there,  clinging  to  each  other  and  won- 
dering if  the  end  of  the  world  had  come,  when 
suddenly  the  cloud  lifted  and  Skinny  yelled: 

"Look!    Look!" 

Down  the  face  of  Greylock,  where  before  trees 
had  been  growing,  water  was  pouring  over  a  great, 
white  scar,  which  reached  from  top  to  bottom, 
nearly  to  where  we  stood,  and  over  to  the  south 
was  a  smaller  scar. 

"  Guess  what,"  said  Benny.  "  Greylock  is  cry- 
ing     What  do  you  know  about  that?" 


Cloudburst  on  Greylock  245 

.There  had  been  two  landslides,  the  only  ones 
we  ever  had  known  to  happen  on  the  mountain. 

And  to  this  day,  as  far  as  you  can  see  Greylock, 
you  will  see  those  white  scars  of  bare  rock,  stretch- 
ing down  his  face,  as  if  some  monstrous  giant  had 
clawed  him,  but,  of  course,  no  water  after  that 
first  time. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


ON   THE   WAY   AT   LAST 


FOLKS  in  our  town  think  that  white  streaks 
down  the  face  of  Greylock  do  not  improve 
his  looks  any,  but  to  us  boys  they  seem  Hke  scars 
won  in  battle.  We  feel  like  cheering  some  morn- 
ings, when  we  see  him  fighting  to  break  away  from 
storm  clouds  which  wrap  him  around. 

At  first  we  can  see  nothing  but  clouds  from 
where  we  stand  on  Bob's  Hill.  Then,  the  clouds 
begin  to  lift  a  little  and  Peck's  Falls  woods  gradu- 
ally come  into  view.  A  little  later  the  very  tip- 
top of  the  mountain  begins  to  show,  floating  like  an 
island  in  an  ocean  of  mist.  While  we  look,  the 
clouds  fall  away  still  more,  making  the  island 
larger  and  larger,  and  the  bottom  mists  roll  up 
the  wooded  sides  of  the  hill. 

In  a  few  minutes  old  Greylock  throws  them  off 

altogether  and  stands  there,  with  his  scars  show- 

246 


On  the  Way  at  Last  247 

ing,  except  that  across  his  face  a  narrow  cloud 
sometimes  hangs  Hke  a  L.  lowy  screen,  giving  him. 
Ma  says,  a  look  of  majesty  as  if  God  was  living 
there. 

Anyhow,  we  boys  can't  help  cheering  when  the 
mountain  shakes  off  his  bonds  and  stands  forth 
Hke  a  giant  Scout,  telling  us  to  be  cheerful  and 
brave  and  reverent  and  all  that. 

The  great  rains  did  more  than  scar  the  face  of" 
Greylock.  They  kept  us  from  starting  on  our  trip; 
at  the  time  we  had  planned  to  go. 

"Wait  until  the  woods  dry  out,"  Mr.  Norton 
told  us.  "  The  roads  are  too  muddy  now  to  think 
of  starting,  and  you  couldn't  have  any  fun  if  the 
woods  were  wet.  A  week  of  sunshine  will  fix 
things  all  right." 

We  hated  to  wait,  but  there  was  plenty  to  do 
getting  ready,  so  that  the  time  did  not  seem  long, 

"  We'll  carry  no  firearms,"  he  went  on.  "  Guns 
seemed  necessary  when  this  was  a  wilderness,  but 
we  are  going  over  a  fairly  well  traveled  road. 
Scouts  do  not  believe  in  wanton  killing,  anyway.'" 

"  How  about  bears?  "  asked  Skinny,  anxiously. 


248  On  the  Way  at  Last 

"  I  have  made  careful  inquiries  and  have  not 
found  anybody  who  has  seen  a  bear  along  that  road 
in  years.  I  know  you  found  one  near  the  Savoy 
road,  or  he  found  you,  but  that  cub  was  as  badly 
frightened  as  you  were.  Should  any  of  us  see  a 
bear,  which  is  not  at  all  likely,  I  don't  believe  there 
is  anything  in  Scout  law  to  keep  us  from  running 
one  way  while  the  bear  is  running  another." 

"  I  don't  know  about  a  Scout's  running,"  Skinny 
told  him.  "Of  course  I  ran,  but  I  didn't  run  far, 
only  to  the  nearest  tree,  so  that  I  could  lasso  him 
better." 

"  Well,  that's  all  right.  Run  to  the  nearest  tree 
and  then  give  the  Scout  signal.  Some  of  the  noises 
which  you  boys  make,  especially  William,  would 
scare  a  whole  drove  of  bears." 

"  Anyhow,  I'm  going  to  carry  my  rope." 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  we  can  do.  We'll  put  in 
the  week  making  bows  and  arrows.  Every  boy 
should  carry  with  him  a  good  bow,  made  of  hickory, 
hemlock,  or  mountain  ash,  and  a  quiver  full  of 
arrows.  You  never  will  have  a  better  chance  to 
become  experts  in  archery." 


On  the  Way  at  Last  249 

We  thought  that  we  would  make  them  of  hem- 
lock, because  there  are  plenty  of  hemlock  trees  up 
above  Peck's  Falls  and  in  Plunkett's  woods,  but 
Mr.  Norton  told  us  that  we  ought  to  make  them 
of  seasoned  wood.  The  next  day  he  sent  some 
seasoned  hickory  over  to  our  barn  and  we  made 
the  bows  and  arrows  of  that. 

We  took  a  lot  of  pains  with  them,  and  a  car- 
penter that  Hank  knew  helped  us  some.  Before 
the  week  was  over  we  had  some  weapons  which 
Skinny  said  he  knew  we  could  scare  a  bear  with, 
anyhow.  Each  Scout's  bow  was  about  as  long  as 
himself  and  an  inch  thick  in  the  center.  The  ends 
were  shaved  down  until  they  bent  evenly.  For 
string,  we  used  strong,  unbleached  linen  threads, 
twisted  together.  Benny  made  his  bow  so  stiff  at 
first  that  he  couldn't  bend  it,  but  Hank  showed 
him  how  to  shave  it  down,  until  he  could  draw  the 
string  back  twenty-three  inches,  like  the  book  says. 

The  arrows  gave  us  the  most  trouble  because 
they  had  to  be  so  straight  and  round.  We  made 
them  twenty-five  inches  long  and  about  three- 
eighths    of   an   inch   thick,   and    we  glued   turkey 


'250  On  the  Way  at  Last 

feathers  on  near  the  notched  end.  The  other  end 
we  fitted  into  a  brass  ferrule,  to  keep  the  wood  from 
spHtting.  The  arrows  looked  fine,  when  we  had 
them  made  and  painted.  Each  boy  painted  his  a 
different  way,  so  that  we  could  tell  which  one  killed 
the  bear. 

Mr.  Norton  showed  us  how  to  make  guards  for 
the  left  wrist,  to  keep  the  bow  cord  from  striking 
it.  To  protect  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand,  we 
used  an  old  leather  glove,  with  the  thumb  and 
little  finger  cut  away. 

I'll  never  forget  the  morning  we  started.  After 
breakfast  the  boys,  all  in  uniform,  came  over  to 
my  house.  Pretty  soon  Mr.  Norton  drove  up  in 
a  light  wagon,  loaded  with  tents,  camp  outfit,  and 
things  to  eat. 

We  greeted  him  with  cheers,  and  when  he  had 
come  close  gave  him  the  Scout  salute. 

"  Come  on,  boys.  Let's  get  started,  if  you  are 
ready,"  he  said.  "  We  have  a  long  walk  ahead  of 
us,  if  we  expect  to  camp  on  Florida  Mountain  to- 
night." 

"  Great  snakes !  "  said  Bill.     "  That  listens  good 


On  the  Way  at  Last  251 

to  little  Willie !  "  And  he  gave  a  yell  that  brought 
people  out  of  their  houses,  all  up  and  down  Park 
Street. 

"  Boys,"  said  Pa,  just  as  we  were  starting,  "  re- 
member that  your  folks  are  trusting  you  and,  as  we 
understand  it,  a  Scout's  honor  is  to  be  trusted.  Re- 
member, too,  that  it  is  a  Scout's  duty  to  obey 
orders  and  that  the  one  to  give  you  orders  while 
you  are  away  is  Mr.  Norton.  And  let  me  add  that 
he  has  my  full  sympathy.  If  he  isn't  worn  to  a 
frazzle  before  he  gets  back,  I'll  miss  my  guess." 

In  another  minute  we  were  off,  the  folks  calling 
good-bys  after  us  and  shouting  for  us  to  remember 
this  and  not  to  forget  that  and  not  to  do  some- 
thing else.  ' 

Mr.  Norton  drove  the  horse  at  the  start  because 
he  knew  that  we  would  want  to  march  through 
town,  and  away  we  went,  with  our  bows  and  arrows 
on  our  backs,  and  Skinny,  with  his  rope  and 
hatchet,  which  he  called  his  tomahawk. 

At  the  Gingham  Ground  we  found  the  boys  of 
Eagle  Patrol  drawn  up  by  the  side  of  the  road. 
They  saluted  and  cheered  as  we  passed. 


252  On  the  Way  at  Last 

"  If  we  have  good  luck  this  time,  we'll  take  you 
next  year,"  called  Mr.  Norton.  "  I'm  new  at  the 
business,  myself,  and  eight  youngsters  are  all  I 
want  to  tackle  the  first  time." 

"  Skinny !  Oh,  Skinny-y-y !  "  yelled  Jim,  when 
we  were  almost  out  of  hearing. 

We  stopped  and  waited  to  find  out  what  was 
wanted. 

"  Don't  kill  all  the  game-e-e.  Save  some  for 
seed." 

Skinny's  only  answer  was  to  wave  his  toma- 
hawk. Then  we  marched  on  toward  North  Adams, 
and  at  nearly  every  house  we  passed  people  came 
to  the  door  to  see  what  was  going  on.  It  made  us 
feel  proud. 

We  took  turns  riding,  two  or  three  boys  in 
the  wagon  at  a  time,  because  Mr.  Norton  said  that 
he  didn't  want  us  to  get  all  tired  out  before  we 
started  and  that  we  shouldn't  be  really  started  until 
we  came  to  the  mountain. 

The  day  was  fine  and  the  roads  were  getting 
dusty  again.  We  were  so  happy  that  almost  before 
we  knew  it  we  came  to  the  foot  of  a  hill,  which  led 


On  the  Way  at  Last  253 

up  into  the  mountain,  and  there  we  stopped  to  eat 
lunch. 

Before  leaving  home,  I  asked  Pa  why  they  called 
it  Florida  Mountain  and  why  they  called  a  little 
town  on  top  Florida,  and  he  said  because  that  was 
its  name.  Anyhow,  they  call  'em  that.  Before 
Hoosac  Tunnel  was  built  under  the  mountain,  a 
stage  coach  made  regular  trips  over  it,  along  the 
road  we  were  going  to  take.  That  was  the  only 
way  people  had  to  get  to  Greenfield  and  the  other 
towns  on  the  east  side,  without  going  south  to 
Pittsfield  and  from  there  going  over  Mount  Wash- 
ington on  the  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad.  Now, 
there  is  a  big  hole  under  the  mountain,  more  than 
four  miles  long,  and  trains  go  through  in  a  few 
minutes. 

After  we  had  eaten  and  had  a  good  rest,  we 
started  up  a  road,  which  we  could  see  winding 
up  the  mountainside,  far  above  us. 

"  Now,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  "  we  don't  have 
to  make  this  trip  all  in  one  day.  We  are  out  for 
fun  and  to  learn  something  about  scouting;  if  we 
climb  too  far  in  this  hot  sun  it  will  get  to  be  work 


254  ^^  ^he  Way  at  Last 

instead  of  play.  I  propose  that  we  climb  slowly, 
taking  plenty  of  time  to  enjoy  the  wonderful  views 
that  will  unfold  before  us  with  every  turn  of  the 
road.  You  boys  can  stop  whenever  you  feel  like 
it,  to  rest,  or  explore,  or  shoot.  Before  we  get  to 
the  top,  we'll  pitch  our  tents  near  some  spring,  in 
full  view  of  the  valley  and  setting  sun.  We'll  plan 
it  so  as  to  have  several  hours  of  daylight  left  after 
we  go  into  camp  for  the  night.  What  do  you 
say?" 

That  suited  us  all  right  and  away  we  went, 
with  Benny  driving,  and  the  old  horse  moving  along 
in  good  shape. 

Say,  no  tunnels  for  us,  after  this !  Tunnels  are 
all  right  when  you  are  in  a  hurry.  But  were  we 
in  a  hurry  ?     I  guess  not ! 

It  was  just  as  Mr.  Norton  had  told  us.  At  every 
turn  of  the  road,  and  mountain  roads  wind  around 
with  a  lot  of  turns  instead  of  going  straight  up, 
we  stopped  to  look  back  over  the  valley.  And 
everj?^  time  we  stopped  it  looked  different.  It  was 
great.  And  the  higher  we  climbed,  the  better  it 
looked  and  the  farther  we  could  see,  until  the  whole 


On  the  Way  at  Last  255 

valley  lay  before  us,  all  the  way  to  Pittsfield  and 
west  toward  the  Hudson.  To  the  north,  the  Green 
Mountains  of  Vermont  looked  blue  in  the  distance. 
Across  the  valley,  on  the  south,  old  Greylock  put 
his  head  up  above  the  other  peaks  and  watched  us, 
wondering,  we  thought,  why  we  were  going  up 
Florida  Mountain  instead  of  climbing  over  him. 

"  Hurray !  "  yelled  Skinny.  "  I'm  Captain  Clark, 
exploring  the  great  Northwest." 

"  I'm  Captain  Lewis,"  shouted  Benny,  strutting 
around  and  waving  his  bow. 

"Me  Injun  chief,"  said  Bill.  "Ugh!  Heap 
pale  face  get  lost.  No  find  trail.  Injun  show  um 
way." 

Then  he  gave  such  a  yell  that  it  scared  the  horse 
and  we  hardly  could  keep  up. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  came  to 
a  spring  near  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  a  little 
beyond,  through  the  trees,  we  could  see  a  grassy 
slope,  just  the  place  for  our  camp. 

"  This  looks  good  to  me,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  driv- 
ing up  to  the  side  of  the  road  and  blocking  the 
wheels  of  the   wagon.     "  We'll   give  the  horse   a 


256  On  the  Way  at  Last 

drink  after  he  cools  off  a  little  and  unload  the 
things  which  we  shall  need  to-night." 

It  looked  like  an  Indian  village  there,  when  we 
had  finished  setting  the  tents  up.  For  beds  we 
went  into  the  woods  and  cut  branches  of  hemlock, 
which  we  wove  into  mattresses  and  covered  with 
blankets. 

"  Let's  play  '  Hunt  the  Deer,' "  said  Skinny, 
when  all  was  ready  for  the  night  and  Mr.  Norton 
had  sat  down  to  rest  on  a  rock,  overlooking  the 
valley. 

"  All  right,  boys,"  he  told  us.  "  I  want  you  to 
have  the  time  of  your  lives  on  this  trip  and  I 
know  that  even  a  view  like  this  will  not  long 
satisfy  a  boy.  But  don't  go  far  and  remember 
your  Scout  training.  You  will  usually  find  moss 
on  the  north  side  of  tree  trunks." 

"We  know  that,"  said  Skinny.  "We  tried  it 
once  on  Greylock,  when  we  were  lost,  and  it  worked 
all  right." 

"  You  can't  get  lost.  I  believe  I  could  hear 
William  call  anywhere  on  the  mountain.  The  sun 
is  shining  and  your  shadows  will  point  east.    Come 


On  the  Way  at  Last  257 

back  in  time  for  supper.  I'll  be  cook  to-night,  but 
after  this  you  boys  will  have  to  take  turns." 

"  We'll  get  back  in  time,  never  fear,"  Skinny  told 
him.  "  We  are  hungry  enough  now  to  gnaw  the 
bark  off  the  trees." 

Then  he  grabbed  a  bag  which  was  stuffed  with 
hay,  put  an  ear  of  corn  in  his  pocket,  and 
started. 

"  Give  me  ten  minutes,"  he  said. 

It  was  a  game  which  we  had  read  about  in  the 
book.  The  stuffed  bag  was  the  deer  and  the  corn 
was  for  the  trail.  The  game  was  for  Skinny  to 
scatter  corn  along,  making  a  crooked  trail  for  us 
to  follow,  and  then  to  hide  the  deer  somewhere  for 
us  to  find. 

After  Skinny  had  made  a  good  start,  we  scat- 
tered, looking  for  the  trail — corn,  footprints,  and 
other  signs. 

It  was  great  fun  and  not  easy  for  beginners 
like  we  were.  Sometimes  we  lost  the  trail  alto- 
gether. Then  one  of  us  would  pick  it  up  again, 
where  Skinny  maybe  had  doubled  back  toward  the 
camp. 


258  On  the  Way  at  Last 

Finally  Bill  caught  sight  of  the  bag  in  some 
bushes  and  yelled : 

"Deer!" 

Hank  hurried  up  and  called,  "  Second !  "  I  saw 
it  third  and  all  the  boys  soon  after  except  Benny. 
He  had  lost  the  trail  and  was  beating  around  in 
the  woods  somewhere,  out  of  sight  and  hearing. 

It  was  Bill's  first  shot  and  he  had  to  stand  where 
he  was  when  he  first  saw  the  deer.  He  took  out 
an  arrow,  aimed  carefully,  and  fired.  The  arrow 
went  so  fast  that  I  believe  it  almost  would  have 
killed  a  real  deer  if  it  had  hit  him,  but  he  aimed 
too  high  and  it  went  over. 

Then  Hank  stepped  five  paces  toward  the  deer 
and  shot.  He  missed.  I  stepped  up  five  paces 
more  and  I  missed.  Harry  went  five  paces  closer 
and  was  the  first  to  hit  it.  After  that  we  all  shot 
from  where  he  had  stood,  until  we  all  had 
hit  it. 

Skinny  had  com.e  up  and  I  was  just  asking  him 
if  he  had  seen  Benny,  when  we  heard  a  great  crash- 
ing through  the  bushes  and  in  a  minute  he  came  in 
sight,  running  like  sixty. 


On  the  Way  at  Last  259 

He  was  almost  tuckered  out  when  he  reached  us 
and  had  only  breath  enough  left  to  say: 

"Run!     It's  a  bear!" 

We  ran,  all  right,  but  after  a  little  I  looked 
back  and  could  see  that  there  was  nothing  fol- 
lowing. 

"  Hold  up — a  minute,"  I  panted.  "  It — ain't  a- 
comin'." 

"  Where  was  it,  Benny?  "  I  asked,  when  they  had 
come  back.     "Where  did  you  see  it?" 

"  I  didn't  see  it.  I  only  heard  it.  It  was  step- 
ping around  in  the  bushes  and  I  heard  it  grunt.  I 
didn't  wait  to  see  it." 

"  I  wish  I  had  my  rope,"  said  Skinny.  "  I  left 
it  in  the  wagon.  Come  on,  anyhow.  We'll  sur- 
round the  critter  and  shoot  him." 

Skinny  scared  us  when  he  said  that.  I  could 
feel  cold  chills  chasing  up  and  down  my  back  bone, 
when  I  thought  of  surrounding  a  live  bear. 

"  Great  snakes !  "  said  Bill.  "  I  hope  it's  a  big 
one,  so  Skinny  can  hit  it.  He  couldn't  hit  a  little 
one." 

"I  couldn't,  couldn't  I?"  said  he.     "I'll  show 


26o  On  the  Way  at  Last 

you  whether  I  can  hit  it  or  not.  Come  on.  I'll 
dare  you  to." 

That  settled  it.  We  weren't  going  to  take  a  dare, 
but  I  was  hoping  all  the  time  that  the  bear  had 
run  away.  So,  v/ith  Benny  keeping  close  to  me 
and  pointing  the  way,  we  crept  through  the  woods, 
not  making  any  noise,  and  each  boy  held  his  bow 
and  arrow  ready  to  shoot. 

It  was  scary  but  it  was  fun.  Finally,  with  an 
excited  pinch  of  my  ann,  Benny  stopped  and 
pointed. 

My  heart  throbbed  like  a  trip-hammer,  and  I 
hardly  could  hold  my  arrow  on  the  cord,  for,  look- 
ing through  some  bushes,  I  caught  sight  of 
something  black  and  heard  the  bear  tramping 
around. 

I  heard  Skinny  muttering  something  about  a 
rope ;  then  he  whispered :  i 

"  Get  ready,  and  run  as  soon  as  you  shoot." 

"  Aim." 

We  stood  there,  trembling,  wanting  to  run  first 
and  shoot  afterward,  but  too  prou.d  to.  Each  boy 
pointed  his  arrow  toward  where  we  could  see  the 


On  the  Way  at  Last  261 

bear  standing  still  behind  some  bushes  and  only 
a  part^  of  him  showing. 

"Fire!" 

I  don't  know  when  I  fired.  I  only  knew  that 
my  arrow  was  gone  and  I  was  running  for  the 
camp  like  the  wind,  with  the  other  Scouts  chasing 
after  me. 

As  we  ran,  we  heard  a  yell  of  pain,  or  fright, 
and  it  was  not  a  bear's  voice  at  all.  It  was  a 
woman's !     Then  we  heard  the  voice  say : 

"  For  the  love  of  Mike !  The  woods  is  full  of 
Injuns  and  I've  got  an  arrow  in  the  pit  of  my 
stummick." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

SCOUTING  THROUGH   A   WILDERNESS 

**  1  /^  ELLERS,"  said  Skinny,  panting  and  wet- 
i  ting  his  lips  with  his  tongue.  "  We've 
done  it  this  time.     We've  killed  somebody." 

"  Killed  nothin' !  "  Bill  told  him.  "  Didn't  you 
hear  her  holler?  " 

"  She's  running,  too,"  said  Benny.  "  Killed 
folks  don't  run,  especially  girls." 

We  could  hear  a  crashing  through  the  bushes 
beyond,  and  knew  that  what  Benny  said  was  true. 

"  Let's  sneak  back  and  get  our  arrows,  anyhow," 
said  Skinny,  when  the  noise  had  stooped. 

So  we  crept  back  again,  ready  to  run  if  any  one 

should  come,  but  there  was  nobody  in  sight.     One 

arrow  was  lying  on  the  ground  where  the  girl  had 

been  standing  when  we  took  her  for  a  bear.     It 

was   Skinny's;   we  could  tell  by  the  way  it  was 

painted. 

262 


"^l-)tc»  J  \%  AJKt— ! 


AS  WE   RAN,   WE   HEARD  A   YELL   OF  PAIX,    OR    FRIGHT,    AND 
IT    WAS    NOT    A    BEAR'S    VOICE    AT    ALL. 


Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness      263 

It  made  him  real  chesty,  after  he  had  found 
out  that  we  had  not  killed  anybody.  > 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you.  Bill,"  said  he,  "  that  I'd  show 
you  whether  I  could  hit  a  bear  or  not?  It  must 
have  struck  a  button  or  something,  or  whoever  it 
was  would  have  bit  the  dust,  and  don't  you  forget 
it." 

While  we  were  standing  there  talking  about  it,  a 
man  burst  through  the  bushes,  followed  by  a  girl, 
about  eighteen  years  old,  I  guess. 

"Are  these  your  Injuns?"  he  asked,  before  we 
had  time  to  run.  Then  he  burst  out  laughing  in 
such  a  way  that  we  were  not  afraid  to  stay. 

In  a  minute  we  had  found  out  all  about  it.  They 
were  fern  gatherers  and  Benny  had  taken  them  for 
bears.  A  lot  of  people  go  up  on  the  mountain  in 
August,  picking  what  they  call  Boston  ferns  to  sell 
to  florists.  They  put  them  in  cold  storage  and  keep 
them  a  long  time.  There  is  a  crazy  little  railroad 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  on  the  east  side,  that 
carries  whole  train  loads  of  those  ferns  to  Hoosac 
Tunnel  station,  and  afterward  they  are  shipped  all 
over  the  country  to  be  put  in  bouquets. 


264     Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness 

Skinny's  arrow  had  struck  the  girl  and  hurt  her 
a  little,  but  not  much.  She  was  scared  half  to 
death. 

Mr.  Norton  had  a  fine  supper  ready  when  we 
reached  the  camp  again,  and  we  ate  until  we 
couldn't  eat  any  longer. 

"  You  boys  ought  to  know  what  you  are  doing 
every  minute  you  are  in  the  woods,"  he  told  us, 
after  he  had  heard  about  the  scare.  "  Suppose  that 
Gabriel  had  been  carrying  a  gun,  as  he  wanted  to, 
instead  of  a  bow  and  arrows.  Just  think  what 
would  have  happened.  Hundreds  of  people  have 
been  killed  in  exactly  that  way.  Careless  hunters 
have  mistaken  them  for  bear  or  deer  or  some  other 
game.  You  ought  to  have  known  what  you  were 
shooting  at.  It  was  a  foolish  thing  to  do,  anyway. 
I  don't  believe  there  can  be  any  bears  around  where 
so  many  people  are  looking  for  ferns  and  berries. 
We'll  see  dozens  of  pickers  on  the  other  side  of 
the  mountain,  probably.  If  there  ever  were  any 
bears  they  have  been  frightened  away  long  before 
this.  But  suppose  that  had  been  a  bear.  For  a 
bunch  of  boys  to  attack  a  bear  with  bows  and 


Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness      265 

arrows  isn't  bravery.  It  is  foolishness.  I  am 
ashamed  of  you." 

We  didn't  feel  quite  so  chesty  when  Mr.  Norton 
had  finished  talking  to  us. 

"  Well,  I  am  not  going  to  spoil  the  day  by  scold- 
ing," he  went  on,  after  we'd  had  time  to  think 
it  over  a  little.  "  You  can  see  the  folly  of  it  as 
well  as  I.  Let  us  sit  here  and  watch  the  sun  go 
down  behind  the  west  mountains.  Did  you  ever 
see  such  glory?  Then,  when  it  grows  dark,  we'll 
build  a  campfire  and  I'll  tell  you  about  a  great 
scout  and  a  trip  he  once  made  through  a  wilder- 
ness." 

It  was  fine  sitting  there,  watching  the  sun  sink 
into  a  golden  sea  behind  the  mountains,  while  the 
valley  below  was  already  in  the  shadow  and  the 
dark  was  creeping  up  the  hillsides. 

We  sat  there  a  long  time  without  speaking,  until 
finally  the  golden  sea  faded  into  a  streak  of  gray, 
and  up  and  down  the  valley  we  could  see  the 
twinkling  lights  of  a  half  dozen  towns  and  the 
farmhouses  between. 

Then  Mr.  Norton  threw  an  armful  of  brush  on 


266     Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness 

the  coals,  and  in  the  light  of  the  blaze,  which  made 
the  shadows  dance  like  ghosts  of  Indian  braves,  he 
began  his  story. 

"  Some  of  you  boys  went  out  to  Illinois,  last 
summer,"  said  he,  "  and  I  know  from  what  you 
have  told  me  that  you  learned  much  about  the  great 
French  scout,  LaSalle;  how  he  explored  the  Ohio 
River  and  went  up  and  down  the  Mississippi,  tak- 
ing possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the 
king  of  France.  Wr  already  have  had  one  story 
which  grew  out  of  those  early  explorations.  The 
Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition  through  the  North- 
west, which  I  told  you  about,  can  be  traced  back 
to  those  scouting  trips  of  LaSalle  and  the 
others,  on  account  of  which  France  claimed  the 
country. 

"  This  story  is  of  another  scouting  trip,  long 
after  LaSalle's  time  and  before  Lewis  and  Clark 
v."ere  born,  probably.  It  took  place  even  before  the 
United  States  was  born,  but,  in  a  way,  it  grew 
out  of  those  same  trips  of  LaSalle  and  Tonty,  Mar- 
quette and  Joliet,  the  French  explorers  of  the  sev= 
enteenth  century." 


Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness      267 

"  Was  this  scout  a  Frencliman,  then  ?  "  asked 
Benny. 

"  No,  he  was  of  Enghsh  parentage,  one  of  the 
finest  Enghsh  country  gentlemen  who  ever  lived, 
but  born  in  America,  and  one  of  the  greatest  Amer- 
ican scouts. 

"  He  was  a  friend  of  yours,  too.  Skinny,"  he 
added,  laughing  to  himself. 

"  Not  me,"  Skinny  told  him,  shaking  his  head. 
"  I  think  a  lot  more  of  England  than  I  did,  on 
account  of  General  Baden-Powell  and  the  Boy 
Scout  business,  but  I  don't  know  this  feller." 

"  That  is  strange.  It  seems  to  me  that  I  have 
heard  you  remark  something  about  his  being  able 
to  lick  Napoleon  Bonaparte  with  one  hand  tied  be- 
hind his  back." 

"  George  Washington !  "  shouted  Skinny.  "  The 
Father  of  his  Country.     First  in " 

"  Say,  who's  tellin'  this  story,  anyhow  ? " 
said  Bill,  pulling  Skinny  over  and  sitting  on 
him. 

"  Yes,  George  Washington,  who,  it  seems  to  me, 
would  have  made  the  finest  kind  of  a  Boy  Scout 


268     Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness 

in  his  younger  days — a  scout  worthy  of  member- 
ship in  Raven  Patrol.  He  seems  to  have  had  all 
of  the  Scout  virtues.  He  was  trustworthy,  loyal 
to  his  home  and  his  native  land;  he  was  thrifty; 
he  was  brave;  he  was  reverent." 

"  I'll  bet  he  couldn't  bandage  a  broken  leg  like 
we  can,"  Benny  told  him. 

"  Maybe  not,  but  he  could  find  his  way  through 
the  forest  and  he  didn't  go  around  shooting  at  girls, 
thinking  that  they  were  bears.  He  liked  girls  too 
well  for  that.  I  believe  he  liked  the  girls  better, 
even,  than  our  patrol  leader  does." 

We  set  up  a  yell  at  that. 

"  Aw,  I  ain't  stuck  on  no  girls,"  said  Skinny. 
"  I  just  rescue  'em,  that's  all." 

''  It's  all  right,"  Mr.  Norton  told  him.  "  A  girl 
is  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world,  unless  it  is  a 
boy.  Anyhow,  George  Washington  was  a  splendid 
type  of  American  boyhood  and  he  surely  liked  the 
girls;  used  to  write  poetry  about  them  when  he 
was  your  age." 

I  don't  know  why,  but  somehow  we  seemed  to 
think  more  of   Washington  after  we  had  heard 


Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness      269 

that.  It  seemed  to  bring  him  closer  to  ns  and 
make  him  a  real  person,  instead  of  a  picture  on 
the  wall,  praying  at  Valley  Forge  or  crossing  the 
Delaware.  Most  always  Washington  is  crossing 
the  Delaware  when  you  see  him. 

"  He  was  a  big  fellow  in  the  first  place,  while 
Napoleon  was  small.  Size  of  body  doesn't  always 
count.  Some  of  the  greatest  men  the  world  has 
produced  have  been  small  of  stature.  But  George 
Washington  was  a  big  fellow.  Like  Lincoln,  he 
could  outwrestle,  outthrow,  and  out  jump  any  of 
his  mates.  They  still  show  a  spot  down  in  Fred- 
ericksburg where  he  stood  and  threw  a  stone  across 
the  Rappahannock  River.  He  didn't  seem  to  know 
the  meaning  of  fear.  From  his  early  youth  he 
was  a  fine  horseman,  taming  and  riding  horses 
that  nobody  else  could  manage." 

"Did  his  mother  call  him  Georgie?"  asked 
Benny,  before  we  could  stop  him, 

"  Perhaps  she  did,  although  I  hardly  can  imagine 
it.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  George  wanted  to  enter 
the  English  navy  and  he  came  pretty  near  doing  it, 
H  he  had,  perhaps  he  would  have  become  a  great 


270     Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness 

admiral  instead  of  the  father  of  his  country.  Who 
knows  ? 

"  A  midshipman's  warrant  was  obtained  for  him, 
so  the  story  goes,  and  his  clothes  actually  had  been 
sent  aboard  a  man-of-war.  Then,  at  the  last  min- 
ute, his  mother  found  that  she  could  not  give  up 
her  oldest  boy  and  she  withdrew  her  consent.  It 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  boy,  but  like  the 
good  Scout  that  he  was  he  obeyed  his  mother  and 
went  back  to  school.     He  learned  to  be  a  surveyor. 

"  Boys  matured  earlier  in  those  days  when  the 
country  was  new.  When  Washington  was  only 
sixteen  he  set  out  on  horseback  through  the  Blue 
Ridge  Mountains  on  a  surveying  trip.  A  year 
afterward  he  was  given  command  of  the  militia  in 
a  Virginia  district,  with  the  rank  of  miajor." 

"  I  don't  see  what  LaSalle  had  to  do  with  all 
that,"  said  Harry. 

"  He  didn't  have  anything  to  do  with  it,  but 
he  had  something  to  do  with  the  scouting  trip 
which  came  later.  You  see,  France  and  England 
each  had  obtained  a  strong  foothold  in  this  country ; 
France,    along   the    Great    Lakes    and    Mississippi 


Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness      271 

River;  England,  along  the  Atlantic  Coast.  Be- 
tween the  Mississippi  and  the  coast  stretched  a 
beautiful  and  fertile  country,  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio.  When  LaSalle  made  his  explorations  he 
took  possession  of  the  Mississippi  in  the  name  of 
the  king  of  France.  On  that  account  France 
claimed  to  own  all  the  land  along  the  Mississippi 
and  along  all  the  rivers  which  flowed  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi. That  took  in  a  great  part  of  the  conti- 
nent." 

"  I  don't  see  how  because  LaSalle  stood  on  a 
rock  and  hollered  out  some  words,"  Hank  told 
him,  "  that  made  the  whole  country  belong  to 
France." 

"  England  couldn't  see  it.  Still,  the  English 
claim  was  not  much  better.  Commissioners  from 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  made  a 
treaty  with  the  Iroquois  Indians  in  1741.  By  the 
terms  of  that  treaty,  for  something  like  $2,000,  the 
Indians  gave  up  all  right  and  title  to  all  the  land 
west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  clear  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi River.  There  were  all  kinds  of  Indians 
living  in  the  Ohio  Valley  but,  according  to  the  tra- 


272      Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness 

ditions  of  the  Iroquois  Indians,  their  forefathers 
once  upon  a  time  had  conquered  it." 

"  It  looks  like  six  of  one  and  half  a  dozen  of 
the  other,"  I  said. 

"  There  wasn't  a  white  settlement  in  the  whole 
territory.  Some  hardy  fur  traders  from  Pennsyl- 
vania had  made  trips  into  the  valley  and  this  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Company  of  Vir- 
ginia, with  the  object  of  getting  ahead  of  the 
French  and  colonizing  the  lands.  Then  the  French 
began  to  get  busy.  France  owned  Canada  at  that 
time,  you  know.  In  1749  the  French  Governor 
of  Canada  sent  three  hundred  men  to  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio  River  with  presents  for  the  Indians. 
They  ordered  the  English  traders  out  of  the  country 
and  nailed  lead  plates  to  trees,  telling  everybody 
that  the  land  belonged  to  France.  The  Indians 
liked  the  presents  well  enough,  but  the  lead  plates 
made  them  mad,  when  they  found  out  their  mean- 
ing.    One  old  chief  exclaimed : 

"  *  The  French  claim  all  the  land  on  one  side  of 
the  Ohio;  the  English  claim  all  the  land  on  the 
other.     Now,  where  does  the  Indian  land  lie  ? ' 


Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness      273 

"  I  have  gone  into  this  explanation  in  order  to 
make  it  clear  to  you  why  Washington  was  sent  on 
his  scouting  trip.  Governor  Dinwiddie  of  Virginia 
wanted  to  send  some  one  whom  he  could  trust  to 
the  French  commander,  to  protest  against  the 
French  coming  into  the  country.  At  the  same  time, 
he  thought  the  messenger  would  be  able  to  find  out 
how  strong  the  French  were,  how  many  canoes 
they  had,  and  all  that.  It  was  a  perilous  mission 
to  undertake  through  an  unknown  wilderness,  with 
winter  coming  on.  Young  Washington  was  only 
twenty-two  years  old,  but  he  was  selected  as  the 
one  to  make  the  dangerous  trip. 

"  Major  Washington  started  from  Williamsburg, 
October  31,  1753.  On  the  frontier  he  procured 
horses,  tents,  etc.  Later  he  was  joined  by  a  famous 
woodsman,  named  Christopher  Gist.  They  took 
along  a  white  man  to  act  as  interpreter  and  some 
Indian  guides.  Chief  White  Thunder  was  one. 
Another  was  known  as  the  Half  King.  His  friend- 
ship was  very  important  to  the  English. 

"  I  imagine  that  the  mountains  which  they  went 
through  were  much  like  these,  except  that  rains 


274     Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness 

and  snow  had  made  them  ahnost  impassable.  The 
party  pushed  on,  however,  and  early  in  December 
arrived  at  the  first  French  outpost.  The  French 
captain  gave  a  feast  in  their  honor,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  drank  so  much  wine  that  it  made  him 
talkative.  He  began  to  brag  of  what  the  French 
were  going  to  do.  He  said  that  they  were  going 
to  take  possession  of  the  entire  Ohio  Valley.  The 
young  American  scout  kept  his  head  clear  and 
afterward  wrote  down  in  a  book  all  that  he  had 
heard. 

"  Then  Washington  set  out  again,  and  after  four 
more  days  of  weary  travel  they  came  to  the  French 
fort  on  the  west  fork  of  French  Creek,  about  fifteen 
miles  south  of  Lake  Erie.  There  he  delivered  his 
message,  and  after  a  great  deal  of  delay  received 
a  sealed  reply. 

"  While  pretending  to  be  friendly,  the  French 
did  their  best  to  win  the  Indian  guides  away  from 
Washington.  They  plied  them  with  liquor  and 
with  presents,  so  much  so  that  the  young  scout 
had  a  hard  time  in  starting  them  toward  home. 
He  succeeded  finally  in  getting  away.     They  first 


Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness      275 

went  up  the  creek  in  boats  as  far  as  an  Indian 
village,  called  Venango;  then  set  out  by  land.  Soon 
their  pack  horses  became  so  jaded  that  Washington 
used  his  saddle  horse  for  a  pack  horse  and  walked. 
After  three  days  of  that,  he  and  Gist  took  their 
packs  on  their  shoulders,  their  guns  in  their  hands, 
and  started  out  alone,  on  a  short  cut  to  the  Ohio 
River. 

"  You  will  find  the  story  in  any  history.  At 
one  time  a  treacherous  Indian  guide  wheeled  sud- 
denly and  shot  at  Washington,  but  did  not  hit  him. 
The  two  men  quickly  overpowered  the  savage,  and 
Gist  was  for  killing  him.  Young  Washington 
would  not  permit  that,  so  they  did  the  next  best 
thing.  They  took  his  gun  away  and  sent  him 
home,  making  him  think  that  they  would  follow 
In  the  morning.  Instead  of  that,  they  left  their 
campfire  burning  and  traveled  all  night  and  all  the 
next  day,  to  get  as  far  away  from  the  spot  as 
possible.  At  last  they  reached  the  Alleghany  River, 
which  they  hoped  to  find  frozen.  There  was  open 
water,  however,  and  they  were  forced  to  build  a 
raft.     All  they  had  to  work  with  was  one  hatchet, 


276     Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness 

like  Skinny's,  I  mean  Gabriel's.  On  the  way 
across,  a  cake  of  ice  struck  the  raft  and  threw 
Washington  into  the  river." 

"  Gee,  I'll  bet  that  it  was  cold,"  said  Skinny. 

"  It  was,  but  Washington  clung  to  the  raft  and 
finally,  in  a  half-frozen  condition,  drifted  against 
an  island,  where  the  two  men  camped  that  night. 
In  the  morning  they  found  ice  cakes  so  wedged  in 
that  they  were  able  to  walk  ashore. 

"January  16,  in  the  dead  of  winter,  Washing- 
ton succeeded  in  reaching  Williamsburg,  and  de- 
livered the  French  commander's  letter  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie.  Soon  after  that  came  the  French  and 
Indian  war,  which  I  am  sure  you  know  all  about, 
in  which  France  lost  all  her  American  possessions 
except  the  great  tract  west  of  the  Mississippi,  which 
Napoleon  later  sold  to  President  Jefferson. 

"  You  see,  being  a  scout  in  those  days  wasn't 
all  play.  It  brought  many  hardships  that  we  know 
little  about,  but,  after  all,  it  called  for  the  same 
kind  of  boy.  Washington  was  brave  and  true, 
helpful,  kind,  and  clean,  and  he  was  prepared. 
When  the  time  came,  his  preparedness  put  him  in 


Scouting  Through  a  Wilderness      277 

command  of  the  American  forces  and  afterward 
made  him  the  first  President  of  the  United  States." 
"  Washington  was  great  stuff,  all  right,"  said 
Skinny,  shaking  his  head  sadly,  "  but  everything  has 
been  discovered  now,  and  explored,  and  Injuns  ain't 
much  good  outside  a  show.  There  ain't  anything 
for  a  feller  to  do  any  more." 


CHAPTER  XIX 


ON   HISTORIC  GROUND 


WE  were  one  more  night  on  the  road  before 
reaching  the  Connecticut  River. 

"  This  trip  is  going  to  be  a  great  part  of  the 
fun,"  Mr.  Norton  had  told  us,  "  and  the  best  part 
of  it  is  that  we  can  go  as  slowly  or  as  fast  as  we 
please.  We'll  cross  over  the  mountain  to-day, 
stopping  whenever  we  feel  like  it,  and  go  into 
camp  somewhere  on  the  other  side.  I  want  to 
have  you  do  some  of  our  Scout  stunts  on  the 
way." 

I  don't  know  which  was  the  most  fun,  walking 
along  the  mountain  road,  which  wound  through 
green  woods  and  across  laughing  brooks,  or  pitch- 
ing our  camp  at  night  and,  after  a  good  supper  of 
our  own  cooking,  listening  to  Mr.  Norton's  stories, 
around  the  campfire. 

We   started   bright   and   early   in   the  morning, 
278 


On  Historic  Ground  279 

carrying  only  our  bows  and  arrows  and  Skinny' s 
hatchet.  The  other  things  were  on  the  wagon. 
Mr.  Norton  drove  because  we  boys  wanted  to  play. 

Skinny  was  George  Washington,  making  his  way 
through  the  wilderness.  He  carried  the  hatchet 
because  he  might  have  to  build  a  raft  to  get  across 
Deerfield  River.  Benny  was  bound  to  be  Chris- 
topher Gist.  Bill  had  a  right  to  first  choice,  on 
account  of  being  corporal,  but  Benny  wanted  to  be 
Gist  and  Bill  didn't  care.  He  said  he'd  rather  be 
White  Thunder,  anyhow;  it  sounded  so  nice  and 
noisy.  Hank  said  that  he'd  be  the  Half  King,  what- 
ever that  was. 

"  His  name  was  Tanacharisson,"  said  Mr.  Nor- 
ton. "  He  was  a  Seneca  chief  of  great  note  in 
those  days.  He  was  called  '  Half  King '  because  he 
wasn't  a  whole  king.  He  was  under  the  chief  of 
the  Six  Nations." 

I  don't  know  what  the  rest  of  us  were,  but  I 
do  know  that  we  had  a  fine  time,  scouting  through 
the  forest  and  along  the  road.  When  we  came  to 
the  town  of  Florida,  on  top  of  the  mountain. 
Skinny  told  us  that  it  was  the  Indian  village  of 


28o  On  Historic  Ground 

Venango,  where  we'd  find  the  French  outposts. 
He  wanted  to  surround  it,  but  White  Thunder  was 
for  pushing  on  because  he  was  getting  hungry,  al- 
though it  was  still  quite  early  in  the  forenoon. 

So  we  trudged  along,  and  down  the  mountain 
road  on  the  other  side,  until  we  came  to  Deerfield 
River. 

We  found  a  bridge  across  the  river  and  didn't 
have  to  make  a  raft.  There  wasn't  water  enough 
to  float  one  over  the  rocks,  anyhow,  although  there 
was  more  than  usual  on  account  of  the  big  rain. 

By  night  we  had  left  the  Florida  Mountain  far 
behind.  Along  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day 
we  marched  Into  Deerfield,  which  is  on  the  Con- 
necticut River.  Say,  the  people  came  out  of  their 
houses  to  see  us  pass,  with  our  uniforms  on  and 
Skinny  in  front,  swinging  his  rope  and  hatchet. 

"  This  is  historic  ground,"  Mr.  Norton  told  us. 
*'  At  the  campfire  to-night  we'll  have  a  story  of 
some  fights  with  Indians  which  were  the  real 
thing.  They  ought  to  make  your  hair  stand  on 
end.  That  stream  over  there  got  its  name  '  Bloody 
Brook '  from  one  of  those  fights." 


On  Historic  Ground  281 

We  camped  that  night  on  the  bank  of  Connecticut 
River,  and  it  seemed  a  long  way  from  home. 

"  This  river  was  discovered  by  the  Dutch/'  said 
Mr.  Norton,  after  we  had  eaten  a  big  supper  and 
were  lying  on  the  river  bank  in  the  twilight  of  the 
evening,  tired  and  happy.  "  The  permanent  settle- 
ments, however,  were  made  by  the  English.  The 
river  was  explored  by  a  Hollander  six  years  before 
Gabriel's  English  ancestors  came  over  in  the  May- 
Hower.  The  first  English  settlements,  you  know, 
were  made  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  Some  years 
later  a  few  of  those  settlers  hiked  over  to  the  Con- 
necticut Valley,  or  came  up  the  river,  and  started 
a  number  of  towns.     One  of  them  was  Deerfield. 

"  It  is  hard  for  us  to  imagine  this  fertile  and 
cultivated  valley  in  a  wild  state,  with  a  few  white 
settlers  here  and  there  surrounded  by  Indians.  The 
whites  considered  themselves  a  superior  race  and 
probably  showed  It  by  their  actions.  Gradually  the 
savages,  who  at  first  had  been  kind,  grew  more 
sullen  and  dangerous.  This  growing  hatred  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians  made  it  very  difficult  for  the 
settlers,  but  there  was  another  thing  which  made 


282  On  Historic  Ground 

it  harder.  In  Europe,  two  great  nations,  England 
and  France,  were  in  almost  constant  warfare,  and 
^ach  was  striving  to  get  the  better  of  the  other  in 
the  settlement  and  possession  of  America. 

"  There  were  some  early  Indian  wars,  with  which 
•the  French  did  not  have  anything  to  do,  but  they 
had  much  to  do  with  the  later  wars  and  attacks 
by  Indians.  One  of  those  early  struggles  is  known 
as  King  Philip's  war,  named  after  a  wily  Indian 
chief.  It  occurred  just  one  hundred  years  before 
the  Revolution,  where  our  patrol  leader  lost  his  an- 
cestor. Even  at  that  early  day  there  were  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  people  in  Deerfield.  In 
that  war  the  Indians  attacked  the  town  twice." 

"  Was  that  what  made  the  brook  bloody  ? " 
asked  Benny. 

"  No.  The  bloody  event  which  gave  the  brook 
its  name  happened  during  the  same  war  but  not 
during  an  attack  on  the  town  itself.  September  18, 
1675,  I  believe,  was  the  date.  A  company  of  young 
men,  commanded  by  Captain  Lothrup,  marched  out 
of  the  town  and  along  a  road  leading  toward  the 
brook.     They  were  acting  as  guard  and  teamsters 


On  Historic  Ground  283 

for  a  number  of  loaded  carts,  which  were  being 
taken  to  some  settler's  home.  It  was  a  beautiful 
day  and  everything  seemed  as  peaceful  as  it  does 
now.  All  were  happy  and  there  was  no  thought 
of  danger.  Some  had  even  placed  their  guns  in 
the  carts  and  were  walking  unarmed. 

"  At  the  brook  a  band  of  Indian  warriors  lay 
in  ambush,  waiting.  On  came  the  young  men, 
laughing  and  whistling  and  chatting  with  one  an- 
other. They  stopped  occasionally  to  gather  some 
wild  grapes,  which  grew  along  the  way.  Concealed 
in  the  long  grass,  on  each  side  of  the  road,  lay 
the  painted  savages,  motionless  and  unseen.  Their 
eyes  gleamed  with  hatred  and  exultation  as  they 
watched  their  victims  approach.  Their  eager  hands 
tightly  grasped  their  weapons.  Impatient  for  the 
slaughter  to  begin,  they  awaited  the  signal." 

"  Great  snakes  !  "  whispered  Bill. 

"  Snakes  is  the  word.  Like  snakes  in  the  grass' 
they  lay,  as  silent  as  the  grave.  At  last  the  signal 
was  given.  With  fierce  cries  they  sprang  upon  the 
surprised  whites,  and  the  little  brook  ran  red  with 
blood.     Sixty-four  men  in   all,    from   the  various 


284  On  Historic  Ground 

settlements,  were  killed  that  day.  Of  seventeen 
young  men,  who  went  out  from  Deerfield  that 
morning,  not  one  returned, 

"  Too  late,  another  company  of  men  came  to  the 
rescue.  They  found  nobody  left  to  rescue.  The 
Indians  then  were  plundering  the  wagons.  The 
savages  outnumbered  the  rescuing  party  ten  to  one, 
but  the  little  band  did  not  hesitate.  They  fought 
desperately  for  five  or  six  hours.  They  were  un- 
able to  drive  the  savages  away,  however,  and  were 
just  going  to  retreat,  when  some  soldiers  from 
Northampton,  down  the  river,  appeared  and  put 
the  Indians  to  flight.  There  was  sadness  in  Deer- 
field  that  day." 

"  I  don't  believe  I  want  to  play  Indian  any  more," 
said  Benny,  drawing  closer  to  the  fire  and  looking 
around  as  if  he  might  see  some  savages  hiding  in 
the  grass.     It  made  us  all  feel  scary, 

"  We  hardly  can  imagine  it  now,"  Mr.  Norton 
went  on,  "  after  more  than  two  hundred  years. 
Later  there  were  other  wars  and  many  attacks  by 
Indians.  The  Deerfield  people  built  a  stockaded 
fort,  into  which  all  would  run  at  the  first  alarm. 


On  Historic  Ground  285 

These  later  attacks  by  the  savages  were  a  part  of 
the  fight  between  England  and  France  for  the  pos- 
session of  America.  The  French  induced  the  In- 
dians to  help  them  drive  the  English  out,  but  Eng- 
lishmen do  not  drive  worth  a  cent,  and  at  last,  as 
you  know,  France  was  obliged  to  give  up  Canada 
to  England,  in  whose  possession  it  has  remained 
ever  since. 

"  First  came  King  William's  war,  in  which  Deer- 
field  was  attacked  several  times;  then  Queen  Anne's 
war,  and  during  that  the  town  was  captured  and 
a  great  part  of  it  burned." 

"  Tell  us  about  that,"  I  said. 

"  War  is  always  a  terrible  thing,  but  in  those 
days  it  seems  to  have  been  more  than  usually  savage 
and  cruel.  Take  the  capture  of  Deerfield,  for  ex- 
ample. The  French  commander  in  Canada  sent 
three  hundred  soldiers  to  butcher  the  people  in  this 
little  town,  in  order  to  make  himself  solid  with 
some  Indians.  The  attack  occurred  a  little  before 
daybreak,  and  some  terrible  scenes  were  enacted. 
I'll  show  you  an  old  door  up  in  Memorial  Hall 
to-morrow,  which  went  through  that  fight.     It  was 


286  On  Historic  Ground 

so  solid  that  they  could  not  break  it  down.  You 
will  see  Vvhere  a  hole  was  cut  through  it  with  axes 
and  bullets. 

"  That  massacre  occurred  February  29,  1704, 
about  two  hundred  years  ago.  Then  came  other 
French  and  Indian  conflicts,  until  finally  England 
triumphed.  Later  the  United  States  Nation  was 
born,  and  President  Jefferson  bought  all  of  the 
American  territory  that  France  had  left. 

"  Everything  is  peaceful  here  now,  but  think  how 
you  would  feel,  to  know  that  you  might  be  sur- 
rounded by  savages,  fierce  and  bloodthirsty,  creep- 
ing toward  you  in  the  darkness,  without  a  sound, 
until  near  enough  to  strike,  and  then " 

All  of  a  sudden  there  came  some  awful  yells  and 
whoops  that  made  our  blood  run  cold,  and  a 
crashing  in  the  bushes  that  sounded  as  if  all  kinds 
of  Indians  were  after  us. 

We  jumped  to  our  feet  and  looked,  even  Mr. 
Norton.  Benny  grabbed  tight  hold  of  my  hand, 
and  I  could  see  Skinny  feeling  around  in  the  grass 
for  his  hatchet. 

Then  It  came  again,  nearer  than  before,  only 


On  Historic  Ground  287 

worse  and  over  to  one  side.  It  was  awful.  I  don't 
know  about  Mr.  Norton,  but  the  rest  of  us  were 
just  going  to  run,  when  the  yell  ended  with  three 
caws,  like  a  crow  in  the  Bellows  Pipe  at  home. 

"  Shucks !  "  said  Skinny,  in  disgust.  "  It's  only 
Bill  Wilson!" 

We  camped  there  on  the  river  bank  nearly  a 
week  and  never  had  more  fun  in  our  lives,  boat- 
ing, fishing,  swimming,  doing  Scout  stunts  and  play- 
ing Scout  games,  and,  with  it  all,  eating  our  heads 
off,  almost. 

I  can't  remember  every  little  thing  that  we  did 
there,  and  the  boys  say  that  it  will  be  all  right 
to  skip  that  part  in  writing  this  history.  There 
didn't  anything  much  happen,  anyhow,  although 
Mrs.  Wade  was  sure  some  of  us  would  get  drowned 
and  even  Ma  told  us  that  she  would  not  feel 
real    easy    in    her   mind    until    we    were    at    home 

again. 

♦ 

"  We'll  go  a  little  earlier  than  we  intended,"  said 
Mr.  Norton,  when  it  was  getting  near  the  time  for 
going  back.  "  I  want  to  see  some  more  of  that 
beautiful  Deer  field  valley,  before  the  river  leaves 


288  On  Historic  Ground 

the  mountains.     Perhaps  we  might  do  a  little  ex- 
ploring on  our  own  account." 

We  came  in  sight  of  Florida  Mountain  on  our 
homeward  trip,  not  far  from  Hoosac  Tunnel.  The 
longest  part  was  behind  us,  but  the  hardest  part,  the 
climb  over  the  mountain,  was  ahead. 

Wild?  Say,  if  you  want  to  see  a  wild  country, 
follow  Deerfield  River  as  it  fights  its  way  down 
from  Vermont,  until  finally  it  breaks  through  the 
mountains  and  runs  off  to  join  the  Connecticut, 
When  you  get  in  among  those  mountains  you  will 
think  that  you  are  Christopher  Columbus  discover- 
ing America. 

"  The  Rockies  are  higher,"  said  Skinny,  when 
we  had  stopped  to  rest  and  look  around  a  little. 
*'  I  read  it  in  a  book.  Besides,  Mr.  Norton  told  us 
about  Lewis  and  Clark  climbing  over  them.  But 
these  are  some  mountains  all  right;  believe  me." 

That  was  what  we  all  thought.  They  were  all 
tumbled  and  jumbled  together  in  a  topsy-turvy  way, 
with  the  river  winding  around  in  every  direction, 
trying  to  get  through,  and  the  railroad  following 
the  river. 


On  Historic  Ground  289 

Mr.  Norton  pointed  it  out  to  us  and  stood  there 
with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  looking.  His  eyes  were 
shining,  and  red  was  coming  into  his  cheeks,  as  if 
he  was  seeing  something  which  we  boys  couldn't 
see  at  all.  And  maybe  he  was,  for  I  have  noticed 
that  grown  folks  sometimes  can't  see  and  hear  the 
things  which  we  boys  see  and  hear;  at  any  rate, 
not  in  the  same  way. 

"What  does  it  make  you  think  of?"  he  asked 
each  of  us. 

Benny's  answer  was  the  best  of  all. 

"  There  was  once  a  baseball  nine  made  up  of 
real  giants,"  said  he.  "  They  were  so  big  that  their 
heads  reached  clear  up  into  the  sky.  One  day  when 
they  were  practising  they  lost  the  ball  and  so  they 
picked  up  these  'ere  mountains  and  began  to  throw 
them  to  each  other,  playing  catch.  Every  once  in 
a  while  some  guy  would  muff  the  ball,  I  mean 
the  mountain.  Then  he  would  let  it  lie  where 
it  had  fallen  and  pick  up  another.  That  is 
why  they  are  all  tumbled  together  every  which 
way." 

"  That's  so,"  I  said.     "  You  can  see  where  the 


290  On  Historic  Ground 

dirt  jarred  off  when  they  fell,  leaving  the  bare 
rocks  sticking  out  in  a  lot  of  places." 

"  It's  alive,  boys,"  said  Bill,  who  had  been  feeling 
of  Benny's  head  and  looking  anxious.  "  It  feels 
like  a  nut,  but  it  ain't  cracked." 

"  Benny  has  given  us  a  good  description  and 
something  to  think  about,"  said  Mr,  Norton.  "  I 
don't  believe  that  I  should  like  to  live  here  all  the 
time,  but  I  should  enjoy  staying  a  week  and  drink- 
ing in  all  this  beauty.  Talk  about  music !  Hear 
the  mountain  breeze  in  the  treetops.  What  does  it 
remind  you  of,  Gabriel?" 

"  It  sounds  to  me  exactly  like  beefsteak  frying," 
Skinny  told  him,  "  and  it  makes  me  hungry.  Let's 
have  some  eats." 

"  All  right,"  said  Mr.  Norton,  laughing  to  him- 
self. "  Now  that  you  mention  it,  I  believe  that  I 
can  detect  a  faint  resemblance.  We  can't  give  you 
beefsteak,  but  there  is  some  bacon  left  and  that 
ought  to  make  much  the  same  kind  of  noise.  Whose 
turn  is  it  to  cook?" 

"  It's  mine,"  Hank  told  him. 

"  Well,  get  busy,  and   for   fear  that  we  might 


On  Historic  Ground  291 

disturb  you,  we'll  go  off  somewhere  and  sit  in  the 
shade." 

We  were  all  as  hungry  as  wolves  when  Hank 
at  last  called  us  to  dinner  and  it  tasted  fine,  al- 
though my  piece  was  burnt  a  little. 

"  I  don't  know  how  you  boys  feel  about  it,"  said 
Mr.  Norton,  after  the  dishes  had  been  washed  and 
put  away,  "  but  I  should  like  to  camp  here  for  a 
couple  of  days.  We'll  do  just  as  you  say,  how- 
ever.    Perhaps  you  have  had  enough." 

We  all  had  been  thinking  the  same  thing  and 
told  him  so. 

"  All  right.  We'll  find  a  good  place  for  our  tents 
and  go  into  camp.  It  will  give  us  a  chance  to 
wash  out  some  clothes  in  the  river  and  to  explore 
this  dehghtful  wilderness." 

We  had  all  kinds  of  fun  practising  our  Scout 
stunts,  exploring,  playing  Indian,  and  things  like 
that.  One  of  the  prettiest  places  that  we  found 
was  a  ravine,  where  two  cascades,  twins,  tumbled 
over  rocky  ledges;  then  came  together  and  raced 
down  the  mountain.  I  don't  mean  that  they  were 
as  pretty  as  Peck's  Falls,  above  our  cave.     They 


292  On  Historic  Ground 

don't  make  any  finer  places  than  that,  only,  of 
course,  Niagara  Falls  are  bigger.  But  they  were 
worth  looking  at,  just  the  same. 

I  am  going  to  put  down  just  how  to  get  there,  in 
case  somebody  should  want  to  see  them.  You 
probably  wouldn't  walk  over  the  mountain,  as  we 
did,  because  it  takes  so  much  time,  but  would  go 
through  Hoosac  Tunnel.  After  you  have  gone 
through  from  the  North  Adams  side  and  the  train 
stops  to  take  of¥  the  electric  engine  and  put  a  steam 
one  on,  get  off  and  walk  back  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel.  Then,  when  you  have  come  to  the  moun- 
tain, climb  up  a  sort  of  path,  following  the  brook, 
and  after  a  little  you  will  come  to  the  twin  cas- 
cades. We  thought  of  camping  there  at  first,  but 
couldn't  find  any  good  place  for  our  tents. 

Except  for  the  train  passing  and  the  engineer 
leaning  out  of  the  cab  window,  we  seemed  out  of 
the  world,  although  we  were  not  more  than  ten 
miles  from  home,  in  a  straight  line.  The  train 
Vv'as  like  company,  and  when  we  were  around  ne^r 
we  always  watched  it  out  of  sight. 

That  is  a  queer  little  railroad  which  comes  down 


On  Historic  Ground  293 

from  Wilmington  and  Readsboro,  Vermont,  as  far 
as  Hoosac  Tunnel  station.  Mr.  Norton  told  us 
all  about  it.  It  is  what  they  call  a  narrow  gauge 
railroad.  That  means  that  the  rails  are  closer  to- 
gether than  on  most  railroads,  and  on  that  account 
regular  cars  cannot  run  on  it.  Its  rails  are  three 
and  a  half  feet  apart,  while  on  a  regular  railroad 
they  are  four  feet,  eight  and  one-half  inches  apart. 
It  runs  along  one  bank  of  Deerfield  River,  a  few 
feet  above  the  water.  The  river  is  mostly  stones 
in  summer,  with  water  in  between. 

The  day  after  we  camped  there  Skinny,  Bill, 
Benny,  Hank,  and  I  sat  on  a  big  stone,  opposite  our 
camp,  waiting  to  see  the  train  go  by.  The  other 
boys  had  gone  with  Mr.  Norton  part  way  up  the 
mountain,  looking  for  berries  for  our  supper. 

Pretty  soon  the  train  came  in  sight  from  toward 
Readsboro,  fifteen  miles  north,  and  it  was  swinging 
along  at  good  speed,  for  it  was  downhill. 

We  cheered  and  waved  our  hats  as  it  went  by- 
I  noticed  a  girl,  who  was  sitting  at  one  of  the 
windows  in  the  passenger  car,  give  a  look  of  sur- 
prise when  she  saw  us;  then  she  leaned  far  out  and 


294  ^^  Historic  Ground 

waved  her  handkerchief.  It  wasn't  anybody  that  I 
knew,  but  when  Skinny  saw  her  he  jumped  to  his 
feet  and  let  out  a  yell.     And  what  he  said  was : 

"Mary!" 

It  surprised  us  some.  You  may  not  believe  it, 
but  the  girl  was  Mary  Richmond,  the  one  Skinny 
walked  down  the  mountain  with,  that  time  he  las- 
soed the  bear,  when  he  was  doing  his  hike  to  Savoy 
and  back.  She  had  been  up  to  Readsboro  with  her 
mother,  visiting. 

"  Come  on,"  said  he,  starting  on  a  run.  "  She'll 
have  to  change  cars  at  Hoosac  Tunnel  station." 

"Aw,  what's  the  use?"  said  Bill.  "We  don't 
know  her." 

At  that  instant,  while  we  stood  there  watching, 
we  saw  the  engine  give  a  sudden  lurch  and  then 
go  bumping  over  the  ties.  In  another  moment  it 
struck  a  rock  or  something  and,  with  an  awful 
crash,  the  whole  train  went  off  the  embankment 
into  the  river  below. 


CHAPTER  XX 

SCOUTS   TO  THE  RESCUE 

YOU  may  have  heard  of  that  wreck,  for  the 
papers  printed  a  lot  about  it  at  the  time. 

After  the  first  crash,  there  was  not  a  sound. 
I  don't  know  how  long  we  stood  there,  paralyzed 
with  horror,  staring  at  the  place  where  the  train 
had  been.  Then  we  heard  a  shriek  of  fear,  or 
pain,  we  couldn't  tell  which,  and  it  was  a  girl's 
voice. 

That  shriek  brought  us  to  our  senses. 

"  Scouts  to  the  rescue !  " 

Skinny  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  roice,  hoping 
that  Mr.  Norton  and  the  others  would  hear,  and 
we  started  on  a  run. 

Before  we  had  gone  halfway  Skinny  turned  to 
Benny. 

"  Run  back  to  the  camp,"  said  he.  "  Get  the 
bandages  and  other  first-aid  things." 

395 


296  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

'**  And  bring  my  rope  and  hatchet,"  he  called, 
over  his  shoulder. 

The  awful  stillness  after  that  first  shriek  sent 
us  on  faster  than  ever,  while  something  seemed  to 
clutch  at  our  throats  so  that  we  hardly  could 
breathe. 

Bill  got  there  first,  but  we  were  not  far  behind. 
When  we  had  come  close  we  could  see  the  train, 
lying  on  the  stones  in  the  river  bed.  The  engine 
had  turned  bottom  side  up  and  lay  there  on  its 
back  with  its  wheels  in  air.  The  passenger  car 
was  on  its  side  and  was  so  badly  smashed  that  it 
didn't  look  like  a  car  at  all. 

"  We've  got  to  have  help  and  have  it  quick,"  said 
Skinny,  looking  almost  pale.  "  Who'll  go  to 
Hoosac  Tunnel  station  for  help?  Hank,  you  go, 
and  run  like  Sara  Hill." 

Hank  was  off  like  a  deer  before  the  words  were 
out  of  his  mouth,  running  toward  the  station,  nearly 
two  miles  away. 

"  Mary !  "  called  Skinny.  "  Mary !  Where  are 
you?" 

"  Here,"    we    heard   a    faint    voice   say.     And, 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  297 

climbing  down,  we  found  her,  wedged  in  between 
some  timbers  so  that  she  could  not  move. 

"Are  you  hurt?"  we  asked,  as  we  commenced 
to  pry  her  loose. 

"  A  little,"  she  told  us,  beginning  to  cry.  "  I 
don't  know  how  much,  but  I'm  all  right  for  now. 
Find  mamma.     I  don't  know  where  she  is." 

After  a  little  search  we  found  her,  nearly  covered 
with  timbers  and  bleeding  from  a  cut  in  her  head. 

"  She's  dead,"  I  whispered,  while  an  awful  feel- 
ing came  over  me.  Her  eyes  were  closed  and  she 
didn't  move,  even  after  we  had  lifted  the  timbers 
away. 

We  dragged  her  out  as  gently  as  we  could  and 
laid  her  on  a  couple  of  car  seats  which  we  took 
from  the  train.  I  sprinkled  some  water  in  her  face 
and  pretty  soon  she  opened  her  eyes. 

She  stared  around  for  a  second  or  two,  trying 
to  understand  where  she  was.  Then  she  saw 
Skinny  and  seemed  to  remember. 

"  Mary !  "  said  she.  "  Have  you  seen  Mary  ? 
Oh,  save  my  little  girl !  " 

"Mary's    all    right,"    Skinny    told    her.     "We 


298  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

haven't  got  her  out  yet,  but  we  know  just  where 
she  is.     She  sent  us  to  find  you." 

"  Thank  God ! "  she  whispered,  and  then  she 
fainted  again. 

We  left  her  there,  lying  among  the  stones  on  the 
river  bottom,  with  her  dress  floating  in  the  water. 

"  I  wish  Mr.  Norton  was  here,"  groaned  Skinny. 
"  I  don't  know  what  to  do.  Here  comes  Benny 
with  the  things." 

There  wasn't  any  time  to  talk.  We  hurried  back 
to  where  we  could  see  Mary's  head  sticking  out  of 
the  wreck.  She  had  her  eyes  closed,  and  I  thought 
she  had  fainted,  but  she  heard  us  come  up  and 
opened  them. 

"  We've  got  your  mother  out,"  Skinny  said. 
"  Now  we'll  get  you  out." 

Her  eyes  asked  the  question  which  her  lips 
couldn't  seem  to  do. 

"  Yes,  she's  alive,"  we  told  her.  "  She's  got 
an  ugly  cut  on  her  head,  but  she  seems  all  right 
■except  that." 

It  was  all  we  could  do  to  get  her  out,  the  timbers 
were  so  heavy  and  so  wedged  in.     They  had  fallen 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  299 

across  each  other  and  made  sort  of  a  roof  over 
her.  If  it  hadn't  been  for  that  she  would  have  been 
killed.  By  all  pulling  on  the  rope  and  cutting  some 
with  the  hatchet,  we  finally  managed  to  get  her 
loose. 

When  we  started  to  lift  her  out  she  screamed 
with  pain.  We  kept  on  lifting.  There  was  no 
other  way. 

"  It's  my  foot,"  she  moaned.  "  It  feels  as  if  it 
was  all  broken  to  pieces." 

Two  of  us  made  a  chair  with  our  hands  and 
carried  her  carefully  up  on  the  river  bank;  then 
hurried  back  to  the  wreck. 

"  There  is  a  man  groaning  somewhere,"  said 
Bill.     "  I  think  it  must  be  the  conductor." 

We  found  him  lying  under  some  wreckage  and 
in  great  pain. 

"  Where  are  you  hurt  ?  "  we  asked,  when  we  had 
lifted  the  wreck  off  from  him. 

"  My  leg!  "  he  groaned.  "  It's  broken.  I'm  all 
in." 

I  took  out  my  knife  and  ripped  his  trouser  leg 
and  underclothes  to  above  the  spot  that  hurt  him, 


300  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

a  little  above  the  knee.  Then,  by  putting  one  hand 
above  the  break  and  the  other  below  it,  just  as  Mr. 
Norton  had  made  us  practise  doing  a  lot  of  times, 
and  lifting  very  gently  I  could  see  the  broken  bone 
move.  He  ground  his  teeth  together  and  great 
drops  of  sweat  came  out  on  his  forehead,  it  hurt 
him  so  much,  although  I  was  trying  to  be  careful. 

"It's  broken,  all  right,"  I  told  him.  "We've 
sent  for  help.  The  only  thing  to  do  is  to  lie  still 
and  wait." 

We  straightened  him  out  and  piled  some  coats 
and  things,  which  we  found  in  the  wreck,  around 
his  leg,  to  make  him  as  comfortable  as  we  could. 

"  How  many  are  there?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  only  had  two  passengers,  a  woman  and  a 
little  girl.  They  got  on  at  Readsboro.  Then  there 
was  the  engineer,  fireman,  and  brakeman,  besides 
myself.     We  run  only  a  small  crew  on  this  train." 

The  brakeman  came  up  while  he  was  speaking. 
He  had  been  stunned  at  first  and  when  he  came  to 
had  managed  to  crawl  out. 

"  Have  you  seen  Jim  or  George?  "  he  asked. 

The  conductor  shook  his  head. 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  301 

"  Do  you  boys  know  anything  about  the  engineer 
and  fireman?  " 

We  hadn't  thought  of  them  before.  We  had 
been  too  busy. 

"  Then  they  are  under  the  engine,"  said  he. 

He  ran  through  the  river  to  the  head  of  the  train, 
we  after  him,  almost  crazy  with  the  thought  of 
those  men  at  the  bottom  of  that  awful  heap  of  iron 
and  steel.  We  pulled  and  lifted  at  the  great  pieces, 
but  we  might  just  as  well  have  tried  to  move  the 
mountain. 

"  We  can't  do  it,  boys,"  the  brakeman  said,  at 
last.  "  We'll  have  to  wait  for  help.  There  isn't 
one  chance  in  a  hundred  that  they  are  alive,  but 
they  may  be.  Somebody  will  have  to  run  to  the 
station  and  make  sure  that  they  bring  some  jacks. 
I  am  'most  done  up  and  don't  feel  equal  to  it. 
Which  one  of  you  will  go?  Only  one,  now;  the 
others  will  be  needed  here." 

"  I'll  go,"  said  Benny.  "  I'm  the  littlest  one  in 
the  bunch  and  can  be  spared  the  easiest.  What 
was  that  you  said  you  wanted  ?  " 

"  Jacks;  to  jack  up  the  engine  frame  with.    There 


302  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

are  several  in  the  baggage  room.  I  saw  them 
there." 

Benny  hated  to  leave,  when  there  was  so  much 
going  on,  but  before  the  brakeman  had  finished 
speaking  he  was  climbing  up  on  the  river  bank. 
In  another  second  he  had  started  down  the  track 
on  a  run. 

"  Now,  fellers,"  Skinny  told  us,  trying  to  keep 
his  teeth  from  chattering,  he  was  so  excited,  "  our 
Scout  book  says  for  us  to  keep  cool  and  we've 
got  to  do  it.  While  we  are  waking  for  help  the 
thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  be  Scouts  and  to  get  busy 
with  our  bandages." 

"  And  make  some  stretchers,"  added  Bill.  "  We 
can't  use  our  coats  and  hike  sticks,  like  the  book 
says,  because  we  didn't  bring  'em." 

"  That's  easy.     We  can  use  car  seats." 

The  "  first-aid  kits,"  which  Benny  had  brought 
from  camp,  had  everything  that  we  needed.  That 
was  what  they  were  put  ^p  for,  only  we  didn't  think 
we  should  need  them.  There  were  shears  and 
tweezers,  carbolized  vaseline,  sterilized  dressings  for 
wounds,  to  keep  the  germs  out,  all  kinds  of  ban- 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  303 

dages  and  things  like  that.  Say,  we  looked  like  a 
drug  store  when  we  had  fairly  started. 

Skinny  cut  away  the  shoe  from  Mary's  foot  and 
Bill  brought  cold  water  from  a  nearby  spring,  to 
bathe  it  in.  The  foot  was  bruised  and  the  ankle 
sprained,  but  no  bones  were  broken.  Soon  they 
had  her  feeling  better. 

I  went  to  help  Mrs.  Richmond,  but  all  the  time 
I  was  thinking  of  the  men  under  the  engine.  She 
was  sitting  up  on  the  car  seat,  trying  to  keep  her 
feet  out  of  the  water. 

"  Are  you  hurt  anywhere  else,  except  your 
head  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  No,"  she  said.  "  I  have  had  a  bad  shock  and 
my  head  is  cut,  but  I  can  move  all  my  limbs;  so  I 
guess  there  are  no  broken  bones.'* 

Her  head  looked  worse  than  it  was,  with  a  gash 
cut  in  it  and  her  hair  matted  down  with  blood. 

"  I  don't  dare  bathe  the  cut,"  I  told  her,  "  because 
the  water  may  be  full  of  germs,  and  besides  I 
haven't  anything  to  bathe  it  with.  The  book  says 
to  be  careful  about  that." 

**  What  does  the  book  say  about  my  washing  my 


304  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

face?"    said    she,    and    she    didn't    wait    for    an 
answer. 

It  didn't  take  long  to  put  on  a  sterilized  dressing 
and  bandage  her  up  in  good  shape.  Then,  with 
Skinny  on  one  side  and  I  on  the  other,  she  man- 
aged to  walk  to  a  low  place  on  the  river  bank, 
where  Mary  was  waiting,  and  climb  up. 

Mrs.  Richmond  said  so  much  about  how  we  had 
saved  her  and  her  little  girl,  it  made  us  feel  foolish. 

"  That  ain't  anything,"  Skinny  told  her.  "  That's 
what  Scouts  are  for." 

"  It  may  be  a  long  time  before  a  doctor  gets 
here,"  I  said,  after  a  little.  "  He  will  have  to  come 
from  North  Adams  or  Readsboro.  And  that  con- 
ductor is  getting  worse  every  minute.  If  you  will 
help  me.  Skinny,  I'll  try  to  put  splints  on  his 
leg." 

You  see,  I  had  practised  with  the  splints  more 
than  some  of  the  boys  had.  They  were  all  for  sav- 
ing folks  from  drowning. 

We  first  found  two  pieces  of  board.  There  were 
plenty  of  them  scattered  around,  on  account  of  the 
wreck.     We  put  one  piece,  which  was  long  enough 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  305 

to  reach  from  his  armpit  to  below  his  foot,  on  the 
outside  of  the  leg.  The  other  we  put  on  the  inside. 
It  didn't  have  to  be  so  long,  but  reached  well  below 
the  knee.  Then,  making  sure  the  broken  bones 
were  in  place,  we  tied  the  splints  on  with  strips 
from  Skinny's  shirt,  first  putting  a  cushion  of  leaves 
between  the  boards  and  the  leg.  After  that  we  tore 
up  Bill's  shirt  and  tied  the  broken  leg  to  the  good 
one  with  three  or  four  strips  of  that. 

"  Do  you  suppose  that  we  can  get  him  up  on  the 
river  bank  ?  "  asked  Skinny,  when  we  had  him  ati 
fixed. 

"  We  must,"  a  quiet  voice  answered. 

Turning,  we  saw  Mr.  Norton,  who  had  come  up 
so  still  that  we  had  not  heard  him. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Norton !  "  cried  Skinny.  "  We  are  so 
glad  you  have  come.  It  is  an  awful  wreck  and 
nobody  to  do  anything  at  first  but  us,  and  we  didn't 
know  what  to  do.  I  think  the  engineer  and  fireman 
were  killed.  The  brakeman  is  over  there,  trying 
to  get  them  out." 

"  You  seem  to  have  done  remarkably  well  for 
boys  who  didn't  know  what  to  do.     I  want  two 


3o6  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

poles  from  the  woods,  Gabriel.     Quick!     William, 
you  go  with  him.     John  will  help  me  here." 

Skinny  grabbed  his  hatchet,  and  before  we  had 
time  to  miss  them  the  boys  were  back  again  with 
two  long  poles.  While  they  were  away  Mr.  Nor- 
ton and  I  pulled  two  car  seats  out  of  the  wreck 
and  were  ready  to  make  a  stretcher.  By  laying 
the  seats  end  to  end  on  the  poles  and  tying  them 
fast  with  Skinny's  rope,  we  had  a  good  one  and 
not  bad  to  ride  on,  because  of  the  springs. 

Then  Mr.  Norton  and  the  brakeman,  with  us 
boys  helping  all  we  could,  lifted  the  conductor  very 
carefully  and  laid  him  on  the  stretcher.  To  lift 
it  by  the  ends  of  the  poles  and  carry  it  up  to  the 
river  bank  was  the  easiest  part  of  all. 

By  that  time.  Hank  and  Benny  had  come  back 
with  two  or  three  men  from  Hoosac  Tunnel  sta- 
tion, and  they  went  to  work  with  jacks  to  get  the 
engineer  and  fireman  out. 

"  A  special  train  is  coming  from  Readsboro," 
Hank  told  us.  "  It's  bringing  some  doctors  and 
the  wrecker." 

"  Do  you  feel  able  to  continue  your  journey,  Mrs. 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  307 

Richmond?  "  Mr.  Norton  asked.  "  We  could  man- 
age to  carry  the  little  girl  as  far  as  the  station  and 
there  is  a  train  due  from  North  Adams  in  about 
an  hour.  Or  would  you  rather  wait  for  the  special 
and  go  back? " 

"  I  think  we'd  better  go  back  to  Readsboro,"  she 
said.  "  We  have  friends  there  and  I  don't  feel 
much  like  walking." 

We  didn't  have  long  to  wait,  for  the  train  soon 
came  puffing  down  the  valley.  Two  doctors  jumped 
off  before  it  had  time  to  stop  and  hurried  over  to 
where  we  were  standing.  They  were  surprised 
some,  when  they  saw  the  people  all  bandaged 
up. 

"Who  did  this?"  asked  one  of  them,  standing 
over  the  conductor.  "  I  thought  there  were  no 
surgeons  here.  Did  you  succeed  in  getting  some- 
body from  North  Adams?" 

"These  boys,"  Mr.  Norton  told  him.  "They 
are  Boy  Scouts  and  have  been  in  training  some  time 
for  this  very  job." 

The  doctor  gave  a  little  whistle. 

"  Good  thing  for  him,"  he  said,  "  that  they  were 


3o8  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

around.  I  couldn't  have  done  it  much  better, 
myself." 

We  felt  proud  when  he  said  that,  and  I  could 
tell  by  the  way  Mr.  Norton  smiled  at  us  that  he 
was  feeling  pretty  good  over  it. 

All  the  same,  the  doctor  bandaged  him  over  again, 
to  make  sure  that  everything  was  all  right.  When 
he  had  finished,  the  hurt  ones  were  put  on  board 
the  train  and  made  as  comfortable  as  possible.  We 
heard  some  cheering  over  by  the  wreck  and  hurried 
back  to  find  out  what  had  happened. 

"  They  are  alive,"  a  man  explained.  "  We've 
jacked  her  up  a  little,  and  the  engineer  just  spoke 
to  us.     He  says  that  the  firem.an  is  alive,  too." 

It  made  us  feel  better  to  know  that  they  were 
alive,  and  the  men  worked  like  sixty  to  get  them 
out.  By  that  time  the  wrecking  crew  had  the  big 
crane  ready.  After  that  it  was  easy.  It  didn't 
take  long  to  swing  the  heavy  frame  clear  of  the 
ground  and  to  one  side. 

The  two  men  were  found  somewhere  in  the  mass, 
badly  hurt  but  alive,  which  was  more  than  we  could 
understand. 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  309 

They  were  lifted  out  as  carefully  as  possible  and 
carried  to  the  car. 

"  Good-by,  boys!"  called  Mary  out  of  the  win- 
dow. 

"  Good-by !  God  bless  you,  dear  children !  "  said 
Mrs.  Richmond. 

"  Good-by, — good-by,"  yelled  the  brakeman. 

The  doctors  were  too  busy  to  say  good-by  to 
anybody.  We  watched  the  train  steam. up  through 
the  valley;  then  Mr.  Norton  took  each  one  of  us  by 
the  hand,  and  he  squeezed  hard. 

We  heard  afterward  that  both  men  got  well,  al- 
though many  weeks  passed  before  they  were  able 
to  work  again. 

We  started  for  home,  bright  and  early  the  next 
morning,  taking  all  day  for  the  climb  over  the 
mountain  and  camping  that  night  among  the  foot- 
hills on  the  west  side.  It  was  only  six  or  seven 
miles  from  there  home,  and  we  were  so  tough  and 
hard  that  it  didn't  seem  far. 

"  We  can  do  it  in  two  hours,  easy,"  said  Skinny. 

We  were  beginning  to  be  in  a  hurry  to  see  our 
folks  and  the  cave,  after  being  away  so  long. 


3IO  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

**  Let's  get  home  in  time  for  breakfast,"  I  said 
"What  do  you  say?" 

"  And  go  without  eatin'  until  we  get  there  ?  Not 
much!" 

"  We  can  have  an  early  breakfast,"  Mr.  Norton 
told  us,  "  and  start  as  soon  as  we  can  see ;  say, 
about  four  o'clock.  We  ought  to  be  able  to  make 
it  by  seven,  easily,  and  I  feel  sure  that  we  shall 
be  able  to  eat  again,  after  our  walk.  I'd  like  to 
get  home  early,  myself.  It  is  time  that  I  was 
going  back  to  work  after  my  vacation." 

That  is  what  we  did,  and  we  surprised  every- 
body. They  had  not  been  expecting  us  before  after- 
noon. 

After  that  we  didn't  see  anything  of  Mr.  Nor- 
ton for  several  days.  Then  he  asked  us  to  meet 
him  at  a  campfire  on  Bob's  Hill,  Saturday  evening. 

"  I  have  spoken  to  your  parents,"  he  told  us, 
"  and  they  have  arranged  for  a  picnic  in  Plunkett's 
woods,  Saturday  afternoon.  We  will  eat  supper 
together  on  the  grass,  at  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and 
afterward  have  a  campfire  at  the  old  stone.  I  think 
that  we  owe  it  to  your  people  to  make  a  sort  of 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  311 

official  report  of  what  we  did  on  our  trip;  that  will 
be  a  good  time  to  do  it." 

That  was  some  picnic,  all  right,  and  it  was  great 
fun,  sitting  there,  talking  and  eating;  then  playing 
Indian  in  the  woods,  surrounding  the  palefaces, 
and  all  that.  But,  best  of  all,  was  the  campfire, 
after  the  sun  had  gone  down  and  the  moon  lighted 
up  the  hills  and  made  old  Greylock  loom  up  big  and 
shadowy.  Of  course,  we  had  told  our  folks  all 
about  everything  but  they  wanted  to  hear  more,  and 
we  had  to  tell  it  all  over  again. 

Finally  Pa  spoke  up.  "  We  have  heard  a  great 
deal  from  the  Scouts,"  he  said,  "  and  we  have  en- 
joyed it  all.  Now,  we'd  like  to  hear  from  the 
Scoutmaster,  how  the  boys  behaved.  But  first  I 
want  to  tell  him  how  grateful  we  all  feel  for  what 
he  is  doing  for  these  youngsters." 

"  I  am  enjoying  it  as  much  as  they  are,"  said 
Mr.  Norton,  looking  fine  as  he  stood  there,  with 
the  moonlight  on  his  face.  "  In  fact,  I  think  that 
I  am  getting  more  out  of  it  than  they  are.  I  asked 
you  fathers  and  mothers  to  meet  me  here  to-night 
because  I  wanted  to  tell  you  how  proud  I  am  of 


312  Scouts  to  the  Rescue 

these  Bob's  Hill  boys,  the  Boy  Scouts  of  Raven 
Patrol.  I  understand  that  in  their  cave  at  Peck's 
Falls  they  have  a  motto  hanging,  which  says  that 
'  The  Boys  of  Bob's  Hill  are  going  to  make  good.' 
They  have  made  good,  Mr.  Smith,  every  one  of 
them." 

He  hesitated  a  moment;  then  went  on: 
"  I  have  made  official  application  for  Honor 
Medals  for  the  part  they  took  In  saving  human  life 
at  that  unfortunate  train  wreck,  and  I  hope  the 
National  Court  of  Honor  will  award  them.  But  I, 
myself,  have  wanted  to  do  something  personally  to 
show  the  boys  how  much  I  have  enjoyed  their 
companionship  and  what  I  think  of  their  conduct — 
all  of  them,  not  only  those  who  happened  to  be 
on  hand  at  the  time  of  the  wreck.  So  I  have  had 
this  banner  made  to  hang  under  the  other  one,  in 
the  cave,  or  wherever  their  place  of  meeting  may 
be." 

He  pulled  out  a  fine  silk  banner  from  his  pocket, 
as  he  spoke,  and  shook  it  out  until  it  hung  full 
length  in  the  moonlight,  and,  looking,  we  saw  in 
one  corner  a  black  raven  and  ''  Patrol  i,  Troop  3 


Scouts  to  the  Rescue  313 

Mass.";    then,    in    large,    gold    letters,    the    Scout 
motto : 

"  BE  PREPARED." 

How  we  did  cheer!  And  our  folks  cheered 
louder  than  anybody. 

"  Guess  what ! "  said  Benny,  after  all  was  still 
again.  "  When  we  grow  up,  we  are  going  to  try 
and  be  like  Mr.  Norton,  our  Scoutmaster." 

"  Bet  your  life  we  are!  "  shouted  Skinny,  spring- 
ing to  his  feet  and  waving  the  banner. 

Then  he  stopped  and  stood  there,  looking  at  us, 
with  his  arms  folded. 

*'  I  have  spoken,"  said  he.     "  Let  be  what  is." 


THE  END 


EVERY  BOY'S  LIBRARY 

BOY  SCOUT  EDITION 


SIMILAR    TO 
THIS  VOLUME 


THE  Boy  Scouts  of  America  in  meJcing  up  this  Library,  selected  only  such  books  as 
had  been  proven  by  a  nation-wide  ceinvass  to  be  most  universally  in  demiind  among 
the  boys  themselves.  Originally  published  in  more  expensive  editions  only,  they  are 
now,  under  the  direction  of  the  Scout's  National  Council,  re-issued  at  a  lower  price  so 
that  all  boys  may  have  the  advantage  of  reading  and  owning  them.  It  is  the  only  series 
of  books  published  under  the  control  of  this  great  organization,  whose  sole  object  is  the 
welfare  and  happiness  of  the  boy  himself.  For  the  first  time  in  history  a  guar- 
anteed library  is  available,  and  at  a  price  so  low  as  to  be  within  the  reach  of  all. 


Along  the  Mohawk  Trail 

Percy  K.  Filzhugh 
Animal  Heroes       Erneat  Thompson  Selon 

Baby  Elton,  Quarter-Back 

Leslie  W.  Quirk 

Bartley,  Freshman  Pitcher 

IVilllam  Heyliger 

Be  Prepared,  The  Boy  Scouts  in  Florida 

A.  W.  Dimock 

Boat-Building  and  Boating  Dan.  Beard 

The  Boy  Scouts  of  Bob's  Hill 

Charles  Pierce  Barton 

The  Boys'  Book  of  New  Inven- 
tions Harry  E.  Maale 
Buccaneers  and  Pirates  of  Our 

Coasts  Frank  R.  Stockton 

The  Call  of  the  Wild  Jack  London 

Cattle  Ranch  to  College 

Russell  Doubleday 
Crooked  Trails  Frederic  Remington 

The  Cruise  of  the  Cachalot 

Frank  T.  Bulkn 
Danny  Fists  Walter  Camp 

For  the  Honor  of  the  School 

Ralph  Henry  Barbour 

Handbook  for  Boys,  Revised  Eldition 

Bo)i  Scouts  of  A  merica 

HzuidicrzdFt  for  Outdoor  Boys 

Dan.  Beard 

The  Horsemen  of  the  Plains 

Joseph  A.  Jlltsheler 
Indian  Boyhood  Charles  A.Eastman 

Jeb  Hutton;  The  story  of  a  Georgia  Boy 
James  B.  Connollv 


The  Jester  of  St.  Timothy's 

Arthur  Stanwood  Pier 
Jim  Davis  John  Masejield 

Last  of  the  Chiefs      Joseph  A.  Altshelex 
Last  of  the  Plainsmen  Zant  Greu 

A  Midshipman  in  the  Pacific 

Cyrus  Townsend  Brads 
Pitching  in  a  Pinch  Christ])  Mathewson 
Ranche  on  the  Oxhide      Henrvlnman 

Redney  McGaw;  A  Circus  Story  for 
Boys.  Arthur  E.  McFarlant 

The  School  Days  of  Elliott  Gray,  Jr. 

Colton  Ma^nard 
Three  Years  Behind  the  Guns 

Lieu  Tisdale 
Tommy  Remington's  Battle 

Burton  E.  Stevensort 
Tecumseh's  Young  Braves 

Eoerett  T.  Tomlinson 
Tom  Strong,  Washington's  Scout 

A  If  red  Bishop  Mason 
To  the  Land  of  the  Caribou 

Paul  Greene  Tomlinson 

Treasure  Island       Robert  Louis  Steoenson 

Ungava    Bob;     A    Tale    of   the  Fur 

Trappers.  Dillon  Wallace 

Wells  Brothers;     The   Young    Cattle 

Kings.  Andy  A  dams 

The  Wireless    Man;     His  work  and 

adventures.  Francis  A.  Colllm 

The  Wolf  Hunters      George  Bird  Qrinnell 
The  Wrecking  Master    Ralph  D.  Pains 

Yankee  Ships  and  Yankee  Sailors 

James  Barnes 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        Publishers,        NEW  YORK 


\\ 


50UTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A  A      000158  356    6 


